A striking, up-close look at great grey owls in eastern Idaho
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While sitting on a log watching a great gray owl, I was surprised when it locked on a position just to my right. As it left its perch, I got a picture of it flying toward me, but as it got closer, it was too close for my telephoto lens to focus on it. It hit the hard crusted snow about 15 feet from me, unable to capture the rodent for breakfast, it posed for me before it headed back to its perch.
About 15 minutes later the next rodent, a vole, was not so lucky as the owl glided off its perch, drifted to the rodents hiding spot, and captured the vole with its talons through six inches of snow. Keeping an eye on me, the lucky owl positioned its breakfast just right to swallow it whole before heading back to its perch in some thick willows.
About three weeks ago, the great grays started showing up in the Upper Snake River Valley from Ashton to Rigby in the large cottonwoods with open meadows near the area rivers. The South and Henrys Fork of the Snake Rivers along with the North and South Fork of the Teton Rivers are favorite haunts for these large owls to winter in. Usually, they come out of the area forests in late December or early January, but this year the snow depth did not force them out until late February.
These owls will hang around their favorite rodent-producing meadows until the rodent numbers become hard to find, or until the snow becomes too hard or deep for them to survive. If that happens, they will find a new meadow that will produce the numbers of rodents for them. When nesting time draws near, according to one owl aficionado, “when their procreative juices start flowing, they will migrate back to the mountains.” We often see them along the rivers until mid to late March when most head to Island Park or the Moody Creek areas.
In the last few weeks, about nine different individual great grays have been located in the Upper Snake River Valley. They are listed as a “sensitive” specie, so I will not pinpoint where these owls can be found, but they often return to the same areas they have wintered in before. Most winter on private property, so access to them can be limited unless they hunt near roads which most of them do.
They are most active in the morning and evening or on stormy days as they capture from three to six small rodents to survive on. Vole appears to be their favorite food, but I have seen them harvest a cottontail rabbit from time to time.
They are equipped to be successful by capturing rodents in soft snow up to two feet deep and can pinpoint the rodents under the snow 100 feet from their perch. The large discs around their eyes funnel the sounds to their ears that are offset on the sides of their heads. As the owl leaves their perch, their hearing updates the movement of their target every fraction of a second. When they go into their dive, they will bring their feet to the side of their head to grasp the rodent.
Once captured, the owl will either swallow it whole where the rodent was captured or will fly to a perch where it will be swallowed. Rarely does the owl tear the rodent in pieces like most hawks do.
Thursday evening as I was working on this article, I got a call from a former student of mine. “Hey Mr. Schiess, I just got back from watching three great gray owls hunting and capturing rodents in a nearby field. Its probably too dark to take pictures but I would love to show you where they are!”
I picked him up and we went for a drive, and we had a wonderful visit. During the falling snow, Friday morning I parked where the spot was and waited for them to show. By daylight there were four great grays harvesting voles in the new four inches of snow and within an hour they had eaten nine voles.
While watching them, I was reminded of a comment my dad made to me many years ago when I began teaching: “Bill, be kind to the kids for they will soon be your doctor, your nurse, your minister, your lawyer and your caretaker.” My former students have made him right as they have opened many gates for me to enjoy wildlife behind!!
Have a great day.
By the way, if you fish Ririe Reservoir be very careful as several pressure ridges have been created during the past 10 days, and they keep widening. Also, the new snow has covered some very dangerous areas on the reservoir.
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