talons before it knows what hit them. No wonder
many Native American cultures considered the owl
a harbinger of death!
Owls might not fly as fast as many other birds,
topping out at 40 miles per hour, but they are
supremely stealthy. The broad shape of their
wings keeps them aloft without much flapping,
and the soft, serrated feathers on the edges of
their primary feathers, combined with the angle of
airflow over their wings, muffles sound.
After an owl sinks its talons into its dinner, it eats
the critter whole, or, if it's too big to swallow in one
bite, it tears the victim into manageable chunks.
The indigestible parts, such as bones, teeth, and
fur come out the other end in the shape of a gray-
white pellets about 24 hours later - just about the
time the owl is ready to hunt again.
A lucky, long-time birder might see all 11 species
of owls in the Adirondack Park. Only three species
- Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls and Northern
Saw-whet Owls - are common. Even those can be
tough to spot, and it's often easier to locate owls
by hearing rather than seeing them, as they hoot to
attract mates and to define (or mark) their territories.
Young owls, less adept at stealth, sometimes show
themselves in late summer as they strike out from the
nest.
The best time to look for owls is at dawn or dusk, or on
a moonlit night. Most owls don't travel unless there is
a shortage of food, so once you discover one, the odds
are high it will remain in the area, at least for a while.
Summer 2014 25
