Give A Hoot, Part 2

Last week I told you how I found an owl by investigating a bunch of cawing crows. This week we are revisiting the owl, because I saw it again. At the conclusion of my latest walk in the woods for my volunteer position with the Nisqually Land Trust, I decided to head over to the barn again.This time, the owl flew out and into the trees. I managed to get a picture of it before it took of into the woods.

You can't see the tall feathers sticking up on the head, but it appears to be a great horned owl. Before I got this picture, I watched an episode of PBS's "Nature" called "Owl Power". Here's what they told me that makes owls so successful. The large eyes are an adaptation to capture as much light as possible, since they hunt at night. The round face funnels sound to the ears. Keep hearing supplements eyesight. The wing shape and feathers are designed for slow and silent flight. Speed is imporatant. They need to fly fast enough to stay aloft, but slow enough to scan the ground in the dark and avoid obstacles. Silence is essential to avoid alerting prey. Thanks to our friends at PBS for sharing that information with us.