With today's report of a Great Gray Owl from Wye Marsh in Simcoe
County and last Monday's sighting in Algonquin Park, we may see more
Great Grays in southern Ontario. The last irruption of Great Gray
Owls, one of the largest ever recorded, was in the winter 2004-2005.
It was fully documented in three major articles in the December 2005
issue of Ontario Birds 23(3):105-160. In that flight there was only
one confirmed first year bird (Mark Peck, pers. comm.). Most were
adults with considerable old and faded feathering, which normally
would have been molted, but was retained because of food stress (no
voles). The lack of voles in 2004 also explained the absence of first
year birds because most Great Grays did not breed or failed. This
year's vole crash occurred much later (fall 2007 compared to spring
2004) so there should be proportionally more first year birds this winter.
If you see a Great Gray Owl, try aging it using a scope. They are
fairly easy to age as either first year or adult. See our online
article "Aging and Variation of Great Gray Owls"
<http://www.jeaniron.ca/GreatGrays/index.htm>. Using photos we
discuss the plumages and molts, subspecies, morphs, albinism,
melanism, and telling males from females.
Please give tame boreal forest owls the space to hunt. Do not pursue
them paparazzi-style. They are hungry and often starving.
Ron Pittaway and Jean Iron
Minden and Toronto ON
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