Habitat of a Northern Hawk Owl
The northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula) is also called the Hudsonian owl, day owl, American hawk owl or Canadian hawk owl. It is a medium-size owl that gets its name by acting more like a hawk than an owl. For example, the hawk owl is diurnal (active in the day) unlike most owls, which are nocturnal (active at night). Hawk owls look like accipiter hawks when in flight, and bob like kestrals when perching. The northern hawk owl is common in its range and habitat, where its preferred prey is plentiful.
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Range
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The northern hawk old can be found in southern Canada east to Labrador and the very northernmost tip of the United States and Alaska. It also lives in Eurasia. The northern hawk owl is found in Norway, Sweden and Finland east through Siberia to Kamchatka, Sakhalin and North China. It can be found in Central Asia south to Tien Shan.
Habitat
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The northern hawk owl resides in the coniferous boreal forest. The "taiga" (another name for the boreal forest) is a nearly continuous belt of coniferous trees across North America and Eurasia. It is a cold climate, with regions of subarctic temperatures. Thus, the northern hawk owl is designed to tolerate long, severe winters of up to six months of temperatures below freezing and short summers of only 50 to 100 frost-free days. Though annual precipitation in the boreal is 15 to 20 inches, low evaporation makes this a humid climate. The owl is found in both lowlands and mountains of the taiga.
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Nesting
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The northern hawk owl does not build its own nest, though it may adopt the stick nest of other large birds. Generally, it nests in cavities, especially old woodpecker nests and the hollow tops of broken tree trunks.
Food
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The main prey of the northern hawk owl is small mammals, especially voles, and populations of these owls do best where voles thrive. The owls also eat other small rodents and some birds, especially in winter. They have also been known to occasionally consume frogs and fish. The hawk owl prefers to hunt in semiopen country with scattered trees or groups of trees.
Migration
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Though the northern hawk owl is nonmigratory, it moves widely within its area of distribution, leaving areas where prey is scarce to areas where food is abundant. In the fall when the young owls are finally fledged and hunting on their own, the juveniles often move into areas south of their normal range searching for food.
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References
- Photo Credit Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com
