Driving back from Ottawa to Toronto this evening, along the 401
westbound, and about 10 minutes after I had already seen a Great Horned
Owl perched atop a deciduous tree at dusk, I saw two more large owls,
each at the top of a 25-ft. [or so] spindly deciduous tree overlooking
the grassy verge on the north side of the highway about 1 km east of the
Millhaven exit. The birds were a couple of hundred metres apart. I was
past the first one before I could get a good look, but I got a decent
look at the second -- it was 5:20 p.m. and too deep into twilight to be
sure (at the speed I was driving) but I think the second bird may have
been a Great Gray Owl. This is based on head shape -- very large and
rounded with no ears evident and proportionally larger than the head of
a Great Horned Owl; body size and proportions -- very large and bulky
but tapering down towards the tail giving the bird a longer look than a
Barred Owl; and posture -- body vertical on the branch but neck
outstretched and bent as if the bird was craning forward and looking
down onto the grassy right-of-way of the highway, a posture I have seen
in mouse-hunting Great Grays elsewhere. I wouldn't suggest a special
trip unless someone else can confirm this sighting, but anyone driving
the 401 past this area might want to keep an eye out for a possible
Great Gray Owl.
Directions: Highway 401, at approx. Km. 594, north side -- this location
is approx. 1 km east of the Millhaven exit and [interestingly] not very
far from Amherst Island.
--
Christopher J. Escott
1 Shouldice Court, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M2L 2S3
Home phone: 416.444.8055 Cellular 416.788.8055
Chris Escott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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