I’ve observed two Boreal Owls in my lifetime. Years ago, I travelled to Ottawa to photograph my first Boreal and just this last winter I took my grandson to the Niagara region to observe my second. It was truly a very cool experience for both of us.
The Boreal Owl is a bright-eyed, square faced owl. It will sit and wait on a perch for small mammals and birds before gliding down talons first to grab it.
From late winter through spring, its quick, hollow hooting sounds across the dark forest as the male calls for a mate. They spend the year in boreal forests, occasionally making their way farther south in years of prey scarcity.
As with most other raptors, the female Boreal Owl is much larger than the male. In fact, they show the most extreme sexual dimorphism of any American owl, with the female sometimes 2 times heavier than the male.
The ear openings on a Boreal Owl's skull are asymmetrical, with one opening high up on the skull and the other much lower. The different positions of the ear openings help the owl find exactly where a sound comes from, helping gauge height as well as distance. Cornell All About Birds
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