I saw him for the first time in June: "the most beautiful inhabitant of the forest", as some here call him. This is the gray owl or, as it is sometimes called, the gray owl.
This fascinating giant owl made its home in parts of Finland and northern Sweden, as well as further east in Siberia, Alaska and Canada. It's secret and hard to find if you don't know where your nest is. After finding the nest, you will also find that the owl is quite brave.
Study the hunter
I was able to study Lapland's finely marked male owl while foraging for food. Suddenly he came out of a branch and tried to catch a mouse. Has he caught his prey? Oh yeah! I could clearly see a small rodent swaying in its claws as it moved upward in slow, imposing flight over huge wings that stretched four feet from the wing tips.
The Lapland owl does not breed regularly every year like many other owls. This giant owl only feeds on small rodents. In a few years, when these are rare, reproduction ceases completely. In other years, when there is plenty of food, there may be four or more chicks in each nest.
Choose a partner
Spring is the mating season of the owls, and the female carefully selects her mate, although the pretender's beauty is not her main concern, as it may be for many human women. According to research by some bird watchers, the male must prove that he is an experienced hunter. Before making plans for a family, he must provide the woman with food.
If there are many rats available and the male is an experienced "feeder," the food he gives the female will make her fat. This weight gain is a signal to your body and tells you how many eggs it needs to produce.
The male is now solely responsible for the hunt, which requires a lot of energy. The woman's pleading appeal encourages her as all her energies are concentrated in the making of eggs and the care of these precious goods.
Nest location
Through my binoculars I watched the handsome man walk firmly over my head as he carried the loot. Eventually I managed to find the nest. Lapland owls do not build their own nests, but generally take control of the nests of other birds of prey in the forest. In the absence of a nest, the owl can use a dead tree stump.
In the nest I found two furry chicks who looked around in amazement. With a chorus of pleading calls, they turned their hungry eyes to their mother, who sat next to them to watch. Getting too close to young people at this time can be dangerous. If the woman feels that her cubs are threatened, she will quietly come and fly, attacking the intruder with sharp claws. That is why it is important to be careful and study owls from a respectful distance.
Food and exercise
When the male reached the nest, it held the prey with its claws to its beak and introduced the mouse to one of the chicks. Feeding a pigeon brings huge sound effects from the next bird in line to get a bite.
After a young man has eaten his coveted food, he shows an almost comical change in behavior. Her face, which was shining and alert until then, suddenly changes and the girl begins to behave as if she were drunk! All of their energies flow into the digestion of the food and it quickly collapses into a huddled pile of fuzzy feathers. But his closest brother is slowly shining eyes and is recovering from the intoxicating effects of his last feeding.
This will continue until mid-June. At this point the youngsters have four weeks to leave the nest, encouraged by their mother's call. First they climb trees with great skill. Predators are not as threatening there as on the ground.
Over time, the chicks move their wings between branches and practice flight. After a while they develop their own ability to fly and hunt. It also changes their appearance so that they too can be considered "beautiful forest dwellers".
Forests are great