Great Grey Owl: facts and video
After posting the photos and telling you about my first encounter with the wonderful great grey owl, here is also a short video to admire its beauty and some information and curiosities.
The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) is a large nocturnal bird of prey belonging to the Strigidae family. In terms of size, it rivals only the eagle owl and the Backiston’s fish owl in Eurasia. It reaches a height ranging from 64 to 81 centimetres (females are usually larger) with a wingspan that can reach 152 centimetres in width; it looks like a large and powerful bird, but it is the thick plumage that makes it look like this: this bird, in fact, reaches a weight that varies between just 700 and 1800 grams.
Among its qualities as an exceptional predator, mainly nocturnal, it certainly stands out in its ability to make itself completely invisible, blending perfectly into the surrounding environment, and its ability to fly without making the slightest noise, attacking the prey from above.
These characteristics, together with its hearing which allows him to perceive noises even under 60 centimetres of snow, have earned him the title of “ghost of the forests”. But it is eyesight, perhaps, the most impressive quality about this owl.
Its large golden yellow or yellowish eyes, with large black pupils, are equipped with particular cells that allow it to capture even the slightest light, thus making it an infallible nocturnal predator, with a view from 10 to 100 times better than that of humans.
However, the eyes are very sensitive, and their vision can be damaged if exposed to strong and intense light. The fantastic thing is that these owls see in black and white.
It is a migratory bird, but its movements are not dictated by the seasons, but by the search for food. In northern Europe it rarely goes even to the extreme south of the Scandinavian peninsula, but it never goes beyond the Baltic Sea.
It is a faithful and protective animal of its offspring. And, like a good ghost of the forests, very silent: in fact, it’s very rare to hear its call, a series of very deep, mournful and sinister whuu-uuh, which it uses only to recall its partner or to warn its offspring of its capture of food.
I hope this information and curiosities have captured your attention and increased your interest in this beautiful animal. And I hope the video pays homage to this enchantment of Nature.
If you love nature and are fond of fauna and birdlife, inerro.land offers guided tours, trekking and workshops to help you discover the wonders of the wildest areas and the wildlife of southern Sweden.
For info, reach me: at inerro@inerro.land / +46737490909 (also WhatsApp).
La mia attrezzatura / My gear: Nikon D750 / Nikon D500 / Obiettivo Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 / GoPro 7 Hero black / Gimbal Neewer / Rollei Tripod C6i Carbon + Rode VideoMicro
