Week of February 23, 2025 – March 1, 2025
by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator
Winter often feels like a mysterious, quiet time, especially at night. Fresh snow absorbs sound, but as it melts and refreezes sounds become amplified as their waves bounce off of icy surfaces. Unlike during warmer times, many nocturnal creatures are quiet. Frogs and insects that live through winter are huddled silently out of sight and cocooning themselves from the cold. So when you do hear a sound at night, it can starkly contrast with the silence.
There is one notable exception to this quiet in the nocturnal world– owls! These nighttime ninjas glide stealthily above the snowpack to pounce on mice, rabbits, and other prey. But they are not always quiet. An increase in owl activity during the beginning of the year is actually one of the first early signs of spring. In New York state, Great Horned Owls have been recorded incubating eggs as early as late January. Nocturnal owl courtship involves a lot of calling back and forth, such as the hoots of Great Horned Owls and the whinnies and trills of Eastern Screech-Owls.
In some areas of Central New York with large, open fields, Short-eared and Snowy Owls can be found slowly flapping just above the grass in winter. Unlike the largely resident forest species, these owls nest mostly north of us. They fly a bit like moths, with deep wingbeats and soft wings that help them to quietly sneak up on rodent prey. Short-eared Owls often begin hunting a few hours before sunset and are relatively quiet when in our area, but sometimes sound cat-like. I recently observed the Short-eared Owls pictured in this blog in a roadside field. Snowy Owls are diurnal, meaning they are active throughout the day. They nest far north on the tundra, and can sometimes be found at airports due to the wide open space available for hunting.
Next time you are out and about at dawn, dusk, nighttime, or even sometimes during the day, look and listen for winter owls around you. If you’re lucky, you might hear a duet between an owl pair or see an owl pounce on prey.