20 Owls Together

[rainingfire4]

Recently when I was walking in the woods in Upstate NY, about 20 Great Horned Owls flew from a medium-sized pine tree. Is this normal for them to be with so many other owls?

[Lonnie]

It does'nt sound normal. but did you know, that a group of owls is called a parliament, because they have that wise look about them, in fact, as birds go, they're quite stupid.

[valsuey]

Must have been an amazing sight , lucky you.I love owls, have only ever seen one at a time though.

[smudge]

I would have loved to have seen that rainingfire - I adore Owls & collect all sorts from ceramic to rustic ones for around the home & garden.

[logman]

I believe it is indeed a rare sight to see a "parlement" of owls and one i think you may treasure for life. I wonder if it might be due to harsh weather and they hunt in large groupes like wolf packs when its very cold.

Out of interest what was the weather like on that day ?

[rainingfire4]

The day I saw them it was really nice and sunny out..probably around 60 degrees F. After the owls flew away, I went to the tree and noticed a LOT of pellets and poo, so I think they've been there a while.

Thanks everyone for telling me a group of owls is called a parliament :)

[smudge]

Thought you might to peruse this list of names for groups of animals & birds: Here

[rainingfire4]

Thanks for that site, smudge!

[smudge]

You're welcome rainingfire.

[Cetti]

Hi rainingfire. At the risk of incurring your wrath I've been doing a bit of swotting up on owls in your area and wonder whether it might have been Long-Eared Owls you saw. They do roost in numbers up to 50 during the daytime and their size would be more fitting to the number seen.

Great Horned as you know are huge, nearly eagle size and their wingspan up to 5 feet. They begin nesting in the depths of winter - January is the usual time, so apologies if I've guessed wrongly but just have a look at this brilliant Owl website:

http://tinyurl.co.uk/x6id

[Cetti]

This is the page that's particularly interesting.

[rainingfire4]

Cetti, I do think you are absolutly right. Looking at those pictures on that site, I realize that the owls I saw looked exactly the same as them. I kept going back to the pine tree to try to find them before they flew away and I have trouble finding them even though the tree isn't very dense at all, and in the 2nd link you sent me it says: "When roosting, a Long-eared Owl will stretch its body to make itself appear like a tree branch."

And it says this: "Unlike most other Owls, during winter they may roost communally (7 to 50 Owls) in dense thickets." The owls I saw definitly fit the description of a Long-Eared Owl. Thank you for pointing that out to me!

[Cetti]

My pleasure.

It was really fascinating looking at the array of birds (and animals) in your area. If you ever get the chance to take a photo rainingfire,please post it on this site - so we can all be green with envy together ;-)

[raptorfrank]

in england we have long eared owls that are a winter grouping owl in pine spinneys of about 30 to 40 owls but sadly a lower number now exists. i have been involved with birds of prey for many years working with injured owls hawk and falcons so your sighting of great horned owls is not unusual enjoy watching. all the best raptorfrank.