I've done a boreal owl photo display before. Sorry. This is the time of year that they are in the middle of nesting, so I thought I'd hit it again.


Through the years in Alaska, I ended up with more than 200 nest boxes scattered all through the Interior.



It's hard to see on this dried skull, but very interesting. The ear opening on the left side of the photo is above the eye. On the right side, the ear opening is below the eye. This is typical of owls, and helps them with precise locations of prey.



To get in the nest boxes, the owls wings typically held them up, so they'd drop their wings to enter the boxes.



The fledgelings are cute little buggers.



This adult female boreal owl shows a couple of owl traits. Zygodactyl claws (normally three forward and one behind) where owls can move one of the forward-facing claws to the back, thus becoming two-forward and two-backward. Increases the size of the "kill zone" on small mammals.


On owls, the leading edges of the wing feathers have forward-facing fringe of featherlets, which deadens the sound of their flight, making it easier to "sneak up" on their prey.



Boreal owls sometimes stack 20 or more voles in their nests, preparing for when the owlets are bigger and will consume more.



Sorry, I got a bit carried away this morning and made it too long.

Jack

Great post Gulo.

Jack.

You never have too much info for us. The beauty of an artist is in the details. Your in depth studies are just that. They demand attention spans longer than a horse's ear, and those whose focus in appreciation match up, it is an educational delight.

It has been the owl's staggered ear placement that gave me the idea years ago, to set up my big sound stereo speakers in similar fashion in a room. It made a world of difference in sound direction and depth to music and movies. Something about that mathematical angle, just works.

Love that soft velvety lining to those wings.

I have always liked hearing owls in the night. Someday I hope to see a Great Grey. I'm sure they are a hoot....

Great shots, Jack. As always.

Interesting, nice post.

good stuff

VERY VERY Informative. Great Post.

Thanks for posting those pics, so Awesome

Gulo,is it always the right ear above and left below?
And is that only on Owls?

Gulu you are a wealth of knowledge. Keep it coming!

Boco -

Yes, from what I've seen, always right auditory canal superior to left. I've not looked at a large sample size, however, and I could easily be wrong. Some other raptors display the asymmetry, but not to the exaggerated level of the owls.

Jack

Absolutely cool stuff Jack !


That business with the ears must be like your GPS connecting to three satellites instead of just one or a three axis autopilot.

Thanks !!

White17 -
Real fine analogy with the GPS and the owl ears. I never thought about it that way. More precision. Perfect!

Jack