Here at the park we have one male & one female Great Grey Owl. They love spending time together and can often be found cuddling & cleaning each other.

Great Grey Owls can be found in forests and near open areas such as meadows or bogs in Canada from Quebec to the Pacific coast, Alaska & Finland.

Their diet is mainly made up of small rodents. They mostly hunt voles, but will also eat weasels, squirrels, rabbits, rats & mice.

They do not build nests so either use nests of other large birds or use broken topped trees or cavities in trees and nest from March to May with 4 eggs in a clutch. After 3 to 4 weeks young jump or fall from the nest, but start to fly 1 to 2 weeks after. The male will hunt to feed the young until they are ready to hunt alone in the Autumn.

Deforestation & human disturbance have a detrimental effect to their population. Chemicals used to minimise rodent numbers can cause poisoning throughout the food chain. In the USA they are seen as a threatened species and are protected. There are laws in place governing logging in Great Grey Owl habitats to minimise loss of nest sites.

They have excellent hearing: their large facial disks, known as ‘ruffs’, focus sound. Asymmetrical ear placement also assists in locating prey, they can locate & capture prey moving beneath 60cm of snow!