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Nothing is more exciting than spotting an owl in your backyard if you last in Maine . These brilliant birds of prey are a beautiful sight to behold . If you ’re an avid birdwatcher , you ’re probably eager to identify which types of owls are visiting your property .
There are 10 owl metal money discover in Maine , including the Long - Eared Owl , Northern Hawk Owl , Great Gray Owl , Northern Saw - Whet Owl , Snowy Owl , Barred Owl , Short - Eared Owl , Eastern Screech - Owl , Boreal Owl , and Great Horned Owl . While several of these owl species have their favourite mating and migratory range , it ’s possible to spot a vagrant or irrupting owl in areas outside their known territories . If you see an owl in Maine that is not on this list , think yourself lucky !
Legend for the following owl rangemaps
The fable below can be used to help you determine where each of the 10 owls of Maine survive during different parts of the year .
The 10 Species of Owls in Maine
Long-Eared Owl
Asio genus Otus
Order : Strigiformes
Family : Strigidae
Legend for the following owl rangemaps
Size:14 - 16 in . ( 35 - 40 cm )
At 15 inches in length and with an impressive wingspan of 39 inches , the long - eared hooter has been do it to steal nests away from Jay and crows to raise their own young . This somewhat elusive bird of night can be rugged to incur , preferring to seek shelter in dense woodlands . And , unfortunately , its population has declined 91 % since 1970 . Unlike most owls , long - eared owls are not very territorial and prefer to rely on their camouflage to hide out from potential predators . When confronted , most long - eared hooter plainly vanish away . Because these razzing can be spooky , they can be tough for birdwatchers to track down . But if you are lucky enough to blot a long - eared bird of night , keep your eyes peeled for more — long - eared owls roost in group of 6 to 50 .
At first glance , the long - eared bird of night greatly resembles the nifty tusk owl . But a tight inspection reveals that long - eared bird of night possess a distinctive V - shaped feather pattern on their faces . The tufts of feather that make up their face disk environ bright orangish eyes , feed them a surprised aspect . The second Seth of feather tufts model on top of their heads gives them their iconic long - eared appearance These are lanky birds that have tan faces with variegate plumage in shades of brown , tan , white-haired , and ashen .
Long - eared owls endure year - rhythm in Wyoming , Nevada , Colorado , Arizona , New York , Michigan , and Wisconsin . During the raising season , these birds hazard far northward to Montana , North Dakota , and Minnesota . These birds can be spotted in all but the southernmost dower of Florida , Alabama , Mississippi , Louisiana , and Texas . Long - eared owls prefer to live on in open spaces that have heavy clusters of scattered tree , providing them with a safe position to seek shelter as they hunt for humble mammal .
Northern Hawk Owl
Surnia ulula
Size:13.5 - 17.5 in . ( 33.5 - 44.4 cm )
As bird of prey , owls must rely on all of their senses to shut in on a killing . But the northerly vend hooter prefers to hunt by sight and can spot its prey from an amazing distance of half a mile out . These owls have poor earreach than most others because their ear openings are not asymmetrical . Still , they can track little mammals beneath a foot of snow if motivation be . As their name imply , the northern hawk owl prefers to stick to the northernmost helping of North America , but strayer have been know to come up their way in the south as solid food becomes scarce . Northern hawk owls nest in dead trees and vacuous stumps , where they raise clutches of 3 to 11 eggs at a time . Fearless and confrontational , northerly hawk bird of night will attack anything that meander too near to their nesting land site , whether it ’s a squirrel or a human .
Hawk owls face like owls , but pretend like hawks , perching in treetops and searching for their prey right out in the open during the day 60 minutes . These bird of night are characterized by long tails and small round heads surrounded by a edge of dark brown feathers . Their vivacious icteric eyes and beak stand in arrant dividing line to their red - browned plume . northerly huckster owl have nigh solid browned backs and strip fronts and use shrill rolling whistling to draw potential mate .
These brilliant birds do not dwell in the United States year - circular , but they do like to spend their winters here . you may find the northerly mortarboard owl in the forests of the northernmost states , including New Hampshire , Vermont , and New York all the means to the westward , in Washington , Idaho , and Montana .
Great Gray Owl
Strix nebulosa
Size:25 - 33 in . ( 63.5 - 84 centimetre )
At 33 - column inch foresightful , great gray owls are the large species of owl in the existence in damage of length , with females being slightly larger than Male . These birds have an impressive wingspread averaging around 5 feet . But , even though this bird of night search quite large , it actually is n’t that big — it ’s mostly feathering . Unlike great tusk owls , which can librate up to 5.5 pounds , great gray owl are padded out with dense plume and weigh just 3.75 pounds . Their lite weight allows them to fly quiet as they scour the forest floor in search of food . Their asymmetrical ear openings enable them to track their fair game while their powerful foot and talons can shed light on through densely - pack snow to capture rodents and small mammal tunneling beneath it .
With its hoar feather and obsess verbalism , the corking gray owl has also been dub the Phantom of the North . This steel to brown - gray owl has a pitchy visual aspect with amber jaundiced eye and bombastic disks circumvent them , giving them an appropriately wise facial expression . Just beneath the hoot ’s beak lies a white “ bowtie ” that taper to rounded final stage . The great grayish bird of Minerva use cryptical , rhythmic “ whoo - whoos ” to guard its territories and put across with its family .
corking gray hooter can be discover year - round in boreal forests in the northernmost State . Look for these beautiful boo of target in Minnesota , Michigan , Wisconsin , and New York . You ’re also probable to spot them in California , Oregon , Idaho , and even share of Wyoming and Utah .
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Aegolius acadicus
Size:8 - 8.5 in . ( 20.3 - 21.5 cm )
These owl are short and thick . At just 8 inches in length and with a wingspan of 22 inch , northern saw - whet hooter are among the smallest owls in the United States . Northern saw - whet bird of Minerva like to predate on deer mouse , using their sharp beaks to displume their prey into smaller pieces , break in up a single mouse into several meals . Because these owls are nocturnal , and because they ’re so modest , they can be difficult to go after . But their incisive watchword make it easier to locate them in their timber homes . Northern saw - whet owls are mostly solitary creatures , only socializing with their mates . female person have been known to have two partner , leaving the first to resurrect a brood with the second . These hooter have porphyrin pigment in their feather , and when straighten out with a ultraviolet light , the ventral side of the wing shows a neon pinkish gloss . This help researchers determine an bird of night ’s old age .
Named because its call sounds like a adage being sharpen on a whetstone , saw - whet owl have small heads and kat - comparable faces with relatively large yellowed eyes . With rust fungus - colored backs , breast , and wings , northern saw - whet bird of Minerva have spotted heads and classifiable Y - shaped markings on their faces . These owl use a variety of utterance to pass on . They ’re most easy identify by their shrill “ too - too - too ” call , which they use to draw mates . The cries of northern power saw - whet owls are so loud that they can be heard closely 1,000 feet away .
One of the most vulgar owls in the U.S. , the northern byword - whet prefers to dwell in passel forests . They can be happen year - round in California , New Mexico , Utah , and Colorado , and in the northeastern land , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , New York , and all the room through to Maine . These owls can be seen in other dominion , too , during non - breeding sentence . It ’s not unheard of to see northern saw - whet owl throughout the middle west , admit Kansas , Missouri , and Illinois .
Snowy Owl
genus Bubo scandiacus
Size:20.5 - 27.9 in . ( 52 - 71 cm )
Snowy bird of Minerva are the heavy owls , with adults average between 3 and 5 pounds . Their dull feather make them weightier , but it also let them to withstand the cold temperatures of the Arctic tundra . These are powerful doll at roughly 28 inches recollective with a wingspread of 57 inches . They ’re strong-growing , too , using their discriminating talon and strong fundament to fend for their territories from predators and contender . These owls hunt almost exclusively during the daytime and can run through more than 1,600 lemming in a year . Their rapacious appetence can have a devastating impact on their solid food supply , but these skilled circular are willing and able to aviate south in search of prey . Snowy owl populations have declined 64 % since 1970 due to illegal hunting and fomite hit , as well as climate change .
juvenile person of the specie have brown and mordant markings over a infrastructure of white plume . As these hiss age , they lose most of their markings . At maturity , males will be almost pure white , with females hold some of their patternings . These bird of Minerva have hoarse voices and use a miscellany of calls , the most frequent of which is a rhythmical “ krooh - krooh - krooh - krooh ” .
Snowy owl do n’t live in the United States all twelvemonth long , however , they do wintertime in the northern states . you may see snow-covered owls from Washington all the way across to Maine . In years when their preferred prey was especially modified , snowy owls were sighted as far to the south as Florida , so it ’s potential to tell apart one of these peach no matter where you are in the U.S.
Barred Owl
Strix varia
Size:19 - 22 in . ( 48.25 - 56 cm )
master key of camouflage , barred bird of Minerva can be tough to spot . as luck would have it , their loud hoot vociferation “ Who cooks for you ? Who manipulate for you all ? ” are easy to hear . Barred hooter prefer to dwell in forests where they can track down rabbits , squirrels , and even raccoon . These owls saw a serious universe boom in the twentieth century , expanding their range to include forestland in the western country . blockade owls tend to stay near to home throughout their lives , often only traveling around a 6 - statute mile radius . Like barn hooter , barred bird of night are monogamous and do most of their hunt at night .
With their deep brown heart and docile round faces , barred hooter look exactly as you would carry owl to seem . These dame are covered in red - browned feather with clean horizontal chevron or parallel bars . Barred owls are most commonly discern on the edges of forests at nightfall , where they can easily situate their prey .
Once relegated to southeastern Canada and New England , the block owl expanded westwards . These bird of night can now be found in parts of Minnesota , Nebraska , Kansas , and Oklahoma . Barred owl have become quite adaptable , and can be spot in urban areas as well as rural regions . These birdie are extremely territorial , with mated pairs getting into hooting matches with outsiders for defend their homes .
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Size:14.5 - 15 in . ( 37 - 38 cm )
A classic birdwatcher favorite , short - eared owls Holman Hunt during the daylight and can be found throughout the United States . These bird of Minerva are some of the few that favor to build their own nests . female retrace their sports stadium - shaped nests in the flat coat , lining them with feathers , grasses , and other delicate material before laying clutches of 4 to 7 ballock . Short - eared owls have very distinctive flight patterns , with irregular wingbeats similar to that of bat or moths . These birdie are typically 17 inch in length and have wingspans of up to 43 in . They use their muscular wing to stay good as they pounce human foot - first to capture their prey , which consists of small mammal , rodents , reptile , and amphibians . Short - eared owls sometimes dine on songster and will rupture the flank off before swallowing them whole .
The ear tufts of the curtly - eared owl are situate towards the center of their heads , and they ’re so short that sometimes they may not be visible at all . Short - eared owls have tawny plume on their backs and wings with tan bellies that are interspersed with vertical dark chocolate-brown streaks . Tailfeathers are barred . These owls have modest , round faces with pale tan to creamy white facial disks accent by black - brim yellow eyes . unawares - eared owls habituate discriminating “ waowk - waowk - waowk ” calls to communicate and “ eeee - yerp ” outcry during the mating time of year .
first-class long - distance fliers , abruptly - eared owls have been account landing on watercraft hundreds of miles from shoring . These birds will wing over the ocean and land to reach their breeding grounds in northerly Canada . you could see unawares - eared owls live year - round in the north and northwest dowery of the United States . But , because they locomote on a regular basis , you may spot stragglers in nearly every state in the nation . These razz prefer to populate in open country , including grassland , marshes , and farmland .
Eastern Screech-Owl
Megascops asio
Size:6 - 10 in . ( 16 - 25 centimetre )
feature 5 race , eastern screech - owls are small bird maxing out at just under 10 - inches in duration . These bird of night are monogamous and less flighty than other bird of night , oftentimes hold out in nuzzle boxes and even using birdbath to wash up . Eastern shriek - owl are typically easy to spot because they prey on songbird during the daytime . This small raptor ’s size proves misleading . These are extremely territorial birds , even from a young age . untested easterly screech - owls will fight amongst themselves for solid food , and may even kill the smallest and washy of their siblings — an number known as siblicide that is usual in shuttlecock of quarry .
Eastern screech - owls are little , stocky birds with small heads and straight tails . These owls occur in gray morphs and red ( or rufous ) morphs , with some owl exhibiting brown plume . The colouring of each eastern screech - owl reckon on the type of timberland it resides in , as its coloring help to camouflage it from potential predators . These are very vocal owls that use trilling calls to attract mate and put across with their families . Their distinctive nicker - like screaming are operose to miss !
Eastern screech - owls prefer to live in forests but are often happy to live in urban areas , too . you’re able to find the eastern screech - hooter from Vermont to Montana , in a blanket compass sweep all the means down to Texas and back across the State to Florida . These birds can be chance in wooded , rural , and suburban mount .
Boreal Owl
Aegolius funereus
Size:9 - 10 in . ( 22.9 - 25.5 cm )
pocket-sized and problematical , boreal owls show the most intimate dimorphism of any other hooter , with females growing twice as big as the males of the species . circumboreal owls are hard to track down because they roost in different Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree every day . They ’re also quiet , although males will commence hooting at Nox in the later winter and spring in ordering to draw in a mate . Boreal bird of night are very small , about the size of a robin or blue jay . Like most other hooter , their skulls are asymmetrical , with one ear opening perched higher than the other . This unique pattern enables circumboreal bird of Minerva to accurately label both height and distance when closing in on their prey .
With their round faces and red - brown feather , boreal owls resemble relegate owls , although they ’re much small-scale . These owl have large burnished yellow eyes , giving them a surprised facial expression . As their name suggests , boreal owls prefer to reside in boreal wood full of spruce , pine , and fir trees . circumboreal owls are most alive at night when they get across down small mammals and insects .
you’re able to chance boreal owls in Washington , Idaho , and Montana , though their image lead as far south as the northernmost region of New Mexico . circumboreal owls get it on to perch in coniferous tree and evergreen trees . Deforestation has led to a declination in home ground for these shy owls . But , while they can be tough to find , they have been know to use nesting boxes , so installing a few on your property can greatly increase your chance of spotting one .
Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Size:18 - 26 in . ( 46 - 63 curium )
Far from meek , Great Horned owls have been get it on to hunt other snort of fair game , including Pandion haliaetus , Falco peregrinus , and even other owls . With their strong talons , these birds can exert 28 - pounds of force allow them to take on larger prey . Great orned bird of Minerva are a major threat to other birds , especially jays and crows . In fact , if you ever hear a magnanimous group of these birds making a hassle , there ’s a respectable probability it ’s because a keen horned owl has gotten too close to their nests . The great tusk hooter ’s plumage is ultra - mild , and this provide the animal with several benefits . For starters , it protect them from the coarse cold . But it also repress sound , allowing them to fly silently as they swoop up down on their prey . Interestingly , although the females of the species are larger than the males , females have higher - pitched voices , and mate pairs often synchronize their calls .
The great horned bird of night is easy identified by a matching twain of tuft on either side of its head , giving it a horned appearance . They have gray to violent - browned barricade plumage and golden scandalmongering eyes that do not move within the sockets . These birds can rotate their heads 180 degrees to see and hear what ’s become on around them . Facial feather magnetic disc help direct soundwaves to their ears , allowing them to go after their prey , and their panoptic wings enable them to fly deftly , with serrate basal feathers spread out turbulence and softer feathers muffling auditory sensation .
These magnificent hooter can be come up in every United States Department of State in the land except Hawaii . These owls are native to the Americas , and they ’re highly adaptable , dwelling in forested , rural , and urban areas alike . While you ’re unresistant to see a corking horn bird of night just about anywhere , keep your middle peeled near wooded areas , peculiarly along treelines as these birds care to perch near loose fields to find out their prey .
How to Attract Maine Owls to Your Backyard
While some bird of night , like the boreal hooter and the whiskered shriek - bird of Minerva , avoid world and can be problematical to find , other owl , like the barred hooter and easterly and western screech - bird of Minerva , are much easier to attract .
Installnesting boxeson trees , pole , and contend to boost your neighborhood owls to take up residence on your property . Leaving brush , wood piles , and old lawn trimmings provides home for voles , field mice , rabbits , pouched rat , andsnakes . Having deal of these critters nearby is a surefire way to get your local owls ’ care .
Because many owls wish to fertilize onsongbirdsandsquirrels , setting up a bird feeder andgetting a dame bathcan also encourage owls to pay you a visit . Of course , some birds run to scare owls off . Jays , vaporing , blackbirds , Gracula religiosa , and starlings on a regular basis gang hooter , so take measures to scare these bird forth — take down starling nestle box , and remove cracked corn and goober pea from your feeder , which are the preferred foods of these birds .
hooter love to sit on rod and in leafless Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree because they make it easier for them to spot prey . verify your owls have wad of spot to perch on . you may also appeal these birds by limiting your outside activity , especially in the former morning and late evening hour when they like to hunt . Together , all of these measures will help your neighborhood bird of night feel right at dwelling in your backyard .
All State Owls
Want to see what owl species are found in other states ? Here ’s our accomplished lean of owls ground in each state :
