The large Great Gray Owl is resident all year across northern Alberta south to Edmonton and along the mountains and foothills to Calgary. It migrates sporadically in winter in response to prey availability, along with northern hawk and boreal owls.
This icon of the deep woods is found in all types of forest where there are brushy clearings and openings. Although large, the Great Gray is quiet and discreet, it is usually concealed part way up a tree on a horizontal branch where they are very well camouflaged against the bark of the tree. It is a real treat to spot one of these magnificent owls perched on a post or on top of a tree.
The formidable looking Great Gray Owl often hunts at dawn and dusk, and lives almost exclusively on mice and voles. Snow cover does not necessarily protect the furtive rodent. The Great Gray can locate a vole by sound under eighteen inches of snow where it plunges through to pluck out the hapless prey.
The Great Gray Owl does not build its own nest. Like other large owls, it uses old hawk, raven or crow nests that are high above the ground. Three to five white eggs are incubated for a month. Young are fledged in another month.
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Where to find Great Gray Owls in Alberta
Until recently, Great Gray Owls were considered to be a rural species almost never seen within city limits. Over the past decade, however, the number of Great Grays reported in Calgary parks and natural areas has been increasing. Most recently the occurrence of this species in Weaselhead has been upgraded from absent to rare. Watch for this nocturnal owl species sleeping by day in the aspen groves along the main bike path. Upon further investigation, the vast majority of Great Gray Owls reported in the Weaselhead/Glenmore Park area turn out to be Great Horned Owls. Brent Johner
Please Report the Great Gray Owls You See in Alberta
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No observations regarding Great Gray Owl behavior have been submitted to the database yet.
Interesting Facts about Great Gray Owls
Great Grays are dusky gray and speckled with brown, white and gray patches. Their heads are large (with no ear tufts) and large facial disks are bordered by a thin brown stripe. One definitive ID of this Owl is what looks like a white bow-tie immediately below their head.
Great Gray Owl Stories from our Readers
One morning we spotted a Great Gray sitting on a fence post along Hwy 66 just past the Bragg Creek turnoff. Just sitting. Unperturbed. This must be a good owl spot because it is also where we have seen a hawk owl. The patchwork of forest and clearings must make for good hunting grounds, especially for owls like the great gray and hawk owl that winter a bit south of their usual haunts. Nora Bryan
PAUL FINKLEMAN
for serving as the society's ADOPT-A-PARK COORDINATOR this year