Photo by Steven Sachs / Audubon Photography Awards
The Northern Hawk-Owl (16" - 41 cm.) is a crow-sized hawk-like owl of boreal forests and northern muskegs. They often perch noticeably at the top of conifers and slowly raise and lower their long, barred, rounded tails in the manner of a kestrel.
They have yellow eyes (like most owls), and no ear tufts or "horns".
Although uncommon to rare and preferring to live remote from human, they often allow close approaches and appear tame.
They are often seen perched high in spruce trees. They fly close to the ground with rapid flapping and gliding when hunting...sometimes hovering.
The Northern Hawk-Owl eats small mammals up to the size of young snowshoe hares and birds as large as ptarmigans.
They have long tails and falcon-like profiles. They are easily identified by their black-bordered facial disks. Underparts are barred with brown.
While rarely seen south of their normal range across the Canadian provinces, they do retreat slightly in winter from the northernmost part of their range. The photos I have taken of this owl were taken a few kilometres north of Toronto, above Lake Ontario.
They are monogamous breeders and produce one brood per year.
Because of the closeness one can get to these high-perched birds, they can be very photographable.
BarrytheBirder
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