In October of 2016 my wife Julie and I made what has become our annual visit to Yellowstone National Park. The Park was celebrating its 100th anniversary so in this special year we invited Carl and Shannon to come with us and stay in the Old Faithful lodge. Carl and Shannon, as native Montanans, are great wildlife guides and this trip did not disappoint. During our visit we had the opportunity to see this beautiful Great Grey Owl in the wild.
Leaving the Yellowstone lodge we headed through the Hayden valley into the Canyon area with our eyes wide open for wildlife. As with many wildlife spottings at the park you first come across cars pulled off to the side of the road and visitors all pointing to something in the distance. We were excited because we were anxious to see a moose and the grassy field looked like good habitat. As we walked into the field surrounded by coniferous woods with camera, lens and tripod we saw this beautiful Great Grey Owl perched in a pine.
This was my first opportunity to photograph an owl let alone the largest owl in North America. Great Greys can reach a body length of three feet and a wingspan of five feet. In spite of this height the owl is relatively light in weight compared to other large owls. This fellow is all fluff and feathers giving him stealth in perfecting silent flight. You can always recognize a Great Grey by the stunning white bowtie under his chin. The wildlife paparazzi were treated to a wonderful display as this owl kept flying from tree to tree within sight of all of us. Incidentally this fellow had over $100,000 in lenses focused on him that morning.
At one point our owl swept down into the grass in the field looking for prey. He didn't appear to have any success. A close look at this fellow's needle sharp talons gives you a clue as to why the Great Grey is called the voracious hunter of the north woods. The owl hung around for more than 30 minutes delighting the photographers and park visitors. I later learned that this owl was a yearling. You can see in the pictures that, unique to yearlings, they have feathery "strings" hanging from the tips of their feathers. These strings wear off during their first year. This possibly could explain his behavior in hanging around our group for so long. Our young Grey hadn't learned to be cautious of humans yet.
The Great Grey Owl is the official symbol of Manitoba Canada. Great Greys are found mainly in western Canada with many living in our north western mountaineous states. Unlike many owls the Great Grey does not migrate. They are territorial and remain in an area throughout the year. This owl is very adapt at hunting during the winter even as the deep snow accumulates. Their hearing is so acute that they can hear the movement of small rodents in two feet of snow; a facial disc of feathers channels sound to their ears. They pounce on the sound of the rodent with their needle sharp claws to obtain a meal maintaining their metabolism in the cold weather. As the only year round raptor resident they have no competition for rodents in the winter.
When we got back to our home-base in Livingston I spent the evening organizing my photos from the day and writing my family travel blog. I posted a few pictures of the Great Grey on some of the Facebook bird groups I belong to and made plans for the remainder of our week in Montana. Little did I know how this beautiful bird would capture my interest over the next several months.
When I returned home to Virginia I began seeing that on several national photo sharing sights this exact bird's picture started appearing. All were posted by amateur photographers who had been at Yellowstone in the same area for the last week of September or first week of October. Apparently this fellow had been giving quite a show to visitors and I was not alone in getting some wonderful shots of this Great Grey. Then came some disappointing news. One visiter posted that this bird had been hit by a car on the side of the road and had died. The "poster" said that this had happened the last week of October which was shortly after I had photographed him. I felt a sense of loss as this fellow had given so much pleasure to us amateur photographers in search of that special wildlife shot.
After reading this I thought I would email Yellowstone Park and see if this indeed was true. My email was forwarded to Doug Smith, Senior Wildlife Biologist. Doug informed me that this owl was hit by a car but was still alive. He was taken to the Montana Raptor Rehabilitation Center in Bozeman, Montana . Further contact with the Montana Raptor Center put me in touch with Jordon Spyke, assistant director at the center. I learned that this owl brought from Yellowstone arrived with a broken wing. The bird underwent surgery and had a pin placed in his broken bone. He would have to spend time healing in a small cage before the pin could be removed. Assuming all went well the bird would be placed in a larger flight cage and retrained to fly and hunt. After several months the owl could be released. Jordon reported that the pin was removed on December 2nd, 2016. Baring further hazards this owl can have a long life of 13-15 years in the wild.
Annick Rollick, Zoologist at the Owl Foundation in Ontario Canada stressed the importance of testing this Great Grey's hearing ability before releasing him. The ear canals should be checked to make sure there is no blood in them. Hearing in both ears is necessary to triangulate food sources. Winter hunting is carried out solely using its fine sense of hearing to locate voles and shrews in the deep snow. Annick also suggested the bird be banded with a US Fish and Wildlife tag so it could be tracked if found again.
I followed up recently with Doug Smith at Yellowstone and he informed me that our Great Grey was returned to the park staff from the Rehabilitation Center and was successfully released on January 5, 2017, and tagged for future reference. Doug requests that we spread the word among photographers and bird watchers visiting Yellowstone that should they see a Great Grey, see if the bird has a bird band on its leg and report your sighting location or photograph to Doug Smith at the Yellowstone Park Headquarters. Contact emails can be found on the parks web site. Yellowstone is now deep in snow so it is with great hope that he will return to his territory in the Canyon and become a successful hunter.
Pictures on Release Day - Photo Credit Yellowstone National Park
Though we will never know the circumstances of our Great Grey and his encounter with an automobile, this is an important time to remember never to use bait to attract an animal for viewing. This can be done inadvertently by tossing an apple core or other snacks out the car window onto the side of the road. Most raptors encountering automobiles are diving for rodents attracted to the side of the road by such trash thrown out of car windows.
This beautiful bird returns to his territory due to the caring efforts of the National Park Service and the staff at the Montana Raptor Center. As raptors are not covered by universal health Insurance consider a donation to the fine folks at your local rehabilitation center. Thanks to the Montana center park visitors will be treated to sightings of our Great Grey for many years to come. He may be more elusive as he matures and particularly if he remembers his encounter with an automobile. He certainly has a story to tell his mate and children some day.
Special thanks to Doug Smith of the National Park Service and to the staff of the Montana Raptor Center in Bozeman.
Update - Difficult news to share - This bird was found in January after its release - dead, killed by a great horned owl who had probably taken over its territory.
His story continues however - One of the professional photographers who was in the group back in October had an article published entitled, The Search for the Great Grey Owl in Outdoor Photography Magazine's January 2017 Issue. This owl's photograph is featured on a two page spread in this popular magazine.
