There are times when it’s a waiting game which patience being required…sooner or later the Hawk Owl would likely turn up. You simply sit back and enjoy some coffee…waiting and watching for any movement.
After an hour and a half I was about to pull the plug… suddenly out of nowhere he/she shows up.

These owls hunt by both sight and sound…with very little to no snow I’m sure finding voles/mice is a much easier task.
Didn’t take long to realize that the owl was focused on a certain area…how long would the wait be ?

The answer to that will be in the next communication.

Cheers !
Dennis

Although it doesn’t really seem like Winter…my First sighting of the season is a Northern Hawk Owl.
Interesting…would have expected to find a Snowy before a Hawk Owl.

From Spring through Fall they are in the Boreal Forest…come Winter can be found in more open areas and even have spent the Winter within the City.

Hawk Owls have both excellent sight and hearing and tend to hunt in the daytime…with their main food source being voles. Most commonly seen perched on tree tops which provides a good vantage point to hunt from.

They are cavity nesters…using woodpecker holes or tree hollows and old broken tree trunks.
Like other owls the female being larger than the male…they range between 14 to 16 inches in size.
Other than size they look very much alike…with no color difference.

Great seeing this Hawk Owl…unfortunately the location is less than ideal.
I don’t believe the owl would consider moving to another area even if I asked him/her nicely…I’ll take what Mother Nature provides.

Cheers !
Dennis