By Dallin Saurey

REXBURG—You will be able to identify the Great Gray Owl by its grey suit, a black bowtie in a white collar around its neck, and a surprised look on its face. They have yellow eyes, a yellow beak, and feathers fanned around the eyes that form circles.

When looking for the Great Gray Owl, it is important to know what their habitat is. They are usually in evergreen and cottonwood forests, or open grassy meadows, not deserts or dry lands.

They must eat regularly in the winter. They are known to eat voles every day. To do that they are very powerful birds, and able to break through snow that can support a 176-pound human. They may also eat small mammals such as lemmings, chipmunks, moles, mice, and pocket gophers.

Great Gray Owls are known to be active from dusk till dawn. However, they have been seen hunting during the day to find food for their young, officially called “owlets.”

The first time I was able to find a Great Gray Owl was on a drive with my dad. My dad always liked going for rides to look for deer. This time, we were celebrating my wildlife biologist job, surveying Northern Spotted Owls with the National Council for Air & Stream Improvement and the Bureau of Land Management. As we drove by the Warm Slough Wildlife Management Area, we looked up into the trees and spotted the a beautiful Great Gray owl.

According to the web site, “All About Birds” the female is larger (up to 28 inches) than the male (up to 26 inches). They don’t have pointy ear tufts like the Great Horned Owl (18.1 inches to 24.8 inches tall).

Another owl-spotting occasion was when some friends of mine had a campfire at Beaver Dick Park. We were sitting by the fire, listening to multiple Great Gray Owls calling each other while we cooked s’mores. It was fantastic to teach the non-birders how to recognize them by ear!

In the green ribbon at the bottom of the page for the www.allaboutbirds.org website there is a “sounds” button to allow you to hear the call of any bird you enter into the search bar. Recently I had the opportunity to spot a Great Gray Owl with my stepson on our way to the shooting range. We were between Hibbard and Plano on 4000 North. As I looked to my right, I saw one up in a cottonwood tree.

I asked, “Can you take a picture of it?”

We noticed other bird watchers in the area, but you don’t have to be a birder to enjoy viewing a Great Gray owl.

The photos for this article were taken this January 2022 by a fellow bird watcher and friend, Bill Scheiss.