After a few absent years the great gray owls made a come back to our local forests. Every three to four years the rodent population peaks and 2024 seems to have been a year of an upswing. When the rodents are thriving, so does the nomad of the taiga and other species dependent on them as well. I got to follow 4 different pairs of great grays this year and a total of 5 owlets who left the safety of their nests and journeyed out into the woodlands.
Early one morning in the beginning of April I went out into the forest to see if I could find any tracks from the wolf family in our area. Fresh snow had fallen the previous evening and most wildlife enthusiasts knows the thrill of it. The landscape turns into an open book where you get to see who's been roaming the roads and game trails during the night and what they've been up to. During my rout I stopped to check up on a great gray owl nesting site in hope to spot owls in the area but I couldn't find any signs of activity. I decided to head back to my car when a familiar sound from the other side of the forest road stopped me. It was the hoots of a great gray owl male, best described as a muffled pumping sound that starts strong and fades as it goes. Since I didn't want to walk into the forest and potentially make him uncomfortable I stayed on the road and kept on scanning the trees up and down with my binoculars to see if I could distinguish his gray silhouette amongst the trunks. I found him in a spruce, perfectly camouflaged. Suddenly out of nowhere, another hoot joined the conversation and I think my heart actually skipped I beat when I realised that a great gray female was responding to the call of the male. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Their courtship had begun and I'd soon be pleasantly surprised to know that the forest was blessed with more gray couples settling in the area.
GREAT GRAY OWL
STRIX NEBULOSA
The great gray owl is Swedens second largest owl with a wingspan of 130-160 cm and a body length of 60-70 cm. Even though they appear big it's mostly feathers and fluff. The female is larger than the male and usually weighs in on 1.5 kg versus the male 1 kg. Their most prominent features are their bright yellow iris, large facial discs and big round head.
During winter 2023/2024 I found a lot of tracks from rodents around the forest.
It's all about the prey
In 2022 and 2023 we couldn't find any nestings of owls dependent on rodents. The rodent population fluctuate, meaning they peak and crash every three to four years. The researchers are not quite sure why this happens and it seems to be a bit complex. Diseases, climate change and predator's way of regulating the population are some hypothesis. This spring however seemed to break the trend in our area and county. During the early months of the year rodent tracks started to appear around the forest and things started looking up. As time went by and April turned to May one big round head after the other started to pop up at different nesting sites around the forest, in other words brooding females. A total of four pairs of gray's settled down and it certainly looked like the food resources were enough to feed their young.
Nest and threats
Out of four pairs we found three in artificial nests and one in a twig nest. Great gray owls (the same goes for all our owls) are no nestbuilders. They inhabit twig nests made by other species such as buzzards and goshawks or choose artificial ones or broken dead trees. Modern forestry and habitat loss are the greatest threats to them and we need to see forests that gets to grow old and the biodiversity that comes with.
The great gray owl is on the Swedish redlist listed as VU (vulnerable) meaning that the population is small, decreasing in numbers and are threatened. This years addition to the species were therefore such great news. Through social media and contacts I got to see many pairs of great grays breeding successfully in other parts of the country as well and it really became clear to me how much people actually care for nature and its inhabitants.
The more time I spend in the field observing, analysing, writing and diving deep into research the more intrigued I become and to be able to study not one but four different pairs of grays with their young ones have been incredible. By spending time with grays and owls in general, one of the most fascinating thing I've come to find about them is their way of communicating and the dynamic within the family. They've a register of different sounds and calls meaning different things and every individual has their unique voice. The bond within the family is strong and the rituals to strengthen it are oh so heartwarming. They're sentient beings with love for their partners and young ones, expressing themselves and their needs. To be given a glimpse into their magical world is a gift from nature and something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life as one of my most impactful wild moments.
Great gray owlet and a twig nest used by breeding grays.
A tired mum during one rainy morning in June.
Great gray siblings taking shelter from the ground on an uprooted tree.
The female's begging call echoes through the forest as she waits for the male to deliver a vole.
After a few absent years the great gray owls made a come back to our local forests. Every three to four years the rodent population peaks and 2024 seems to have been a year of an upswing. When the rodents are thriving, so does the nomad of the taiga and other species dependent on them as well. I got to follow 4 different pairs of great grays this year and a total of 5 owlets who left the safety of their nests and journeyed out into the woodlands.
Early one morning in the beginning of April I went out into the forest to see if I could find any tracks from the wolf family in our area. Fresh snow had fallen the previous evening and most wildlife enthusiasts knows the thrill of it. The landscape turns into an open book where you get to see who's been roaming the roads and game trails during the night and what they've been up to. During my rout I stopped to check up on a great gray owl nesting site in hope to spot owls in the area but I couldn't find any signs of activity. I decided to head back to my car when a familiar sound from the other side of the forest road stopped me. It was the hoots of a great gray owl male, best described as a muffled pumping sound that starts strong and fades as it goes. Since I didn't want to walk into the forest and potentially make him uncomfortable I stayed on the road and kept on scanning the trees up and down with my binoculars to see if I could distinguish his gray silhouette amongst the trunks. I found him in a spruce, perfectly camouflaged. Suddenly out of nowhere, another hoot joined the conversation and I think my heart actually skipped I beat when I realised that a great gray female was responding to the call of the male. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Their courtship had begun and I'd soon be pleasantly surprised to know that the forest was blessed with more gray couples settling in the area.
GREAT GRAY OWL
STRIX NEBULOSA
The great gray owl is Swedens second largest owl with a wingspan of 130-160 cm and a body length of 60-70 cm. Even though they appear big it's mostly feathers and fluff. The female is larger than the male and usually weighs in on 1.5 kg versus the male 1 kg. Their most prominent features are their bright yellow iris, large facial discs and big round head.
During winter 2023/2024 I found a lot of tracks from rodents around the forest.
It's all about the prey
In 2022 and 2023 we couldn't find any nestings of owls dependent on rodents. The rodent population fluctuate, meaning they peak and crash every three to four years. The researchers are not quite sure why this happens and it seems to be a bit complex. Diseases, climate change and predator's way of regulating the population are some hypothesis. This spring however seemed to break the trend in our area and county. During the early months of the year rodent tracks started to appear around the forest and things started looking up. As time went by and April turned to May one big round head after the other started to pop up at different nesting sites around the forest, in other words brooding females. A total of four pairs of gray's settled down and it certainly looked like the food resources were enough to feed their young.
Nest and threats
Out of four pairs we found three in artificial nests and one in a twig nest. Great gray owls (the same goes for all our owls) are no nestbuilders. They inhabit twig nests made by other species such as buzzards and goshawks or choose artificial ones or broken dead trees. Modern forestry and habitat loss are the greatest threats to them and we need to see forests that gets to grow old and the biodiversity that comes with.
The great gray owl is on the Swedish redlist listed as VU (vulnerable) meaning that the population is small, decreasing in numbers and are threatened. This years addition to the species were therefore such great news. Through social media and contacts I got to see many pairs of great grays breeding successfully in other parts of the country as well and it really became clear to me how much people actually care for nature and its inhabitants.
The more time I spend in the field observing, analysing, writing and diving deep into research the more intrigued I become and to be able to study not one but four different pairs of grays with their young ones have been incredible. By spending time with grays and owls in general, one of the most fascinating thing I've come to find about them is their way of communicating and the dynamic within the family. They've a register of different sounds and calls meaning different things and every individual has their unique voice. The bond within the family is strong and the rituals to strengthen it are oh so heartwarming. They're sentient beings with love for their partners and young ones, expressing themselves and their needs. To be given a glimpse into their magical world is a gift from nature and something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life as one of my most impactful wild moments.
Great gray owlet and a twig nest used by breeding grays.
A tired mum during one rainy morning in June.
Great gray siblings taking shelter from the ground on an uprooted tree.
The female's begging call echoes through the forest as she waits for the male to deliver a vole.