Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)


Group	Owls
Code	ABNSB12040
Order	Strigiformes
Family	Strigidae
Author	Forster, 1772
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	W (definitions)
Scale	N (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	none
Eastern UP	none
Northern LP	none
Southern LP	none

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      Bog 
   adjacent to:
      (Tamarack (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      and (Black Spruce (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Stand Gap Openings
      and Snags

2nd alternative:
      Bog
   adjacent to:
      (Mixed Lowland Conifer (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or Treed Bog
   containing:
      Stand Gap Openings
      and Snags

3rd alternative:
      Bog
   adjacent to:
      (Sedge Meadow or Lowland Brush) 
   adjacent to:
      (Tamarack (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      and (Black Spruce (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Stand Gap Openings
      and Snags

4th alternative:
      Bog
   adjacent to:
      (Sedge Meadow or Lowland Brush)
   adjacent to:
      (Mixed Lowland Conifer (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or Treed Bog
   containing:
      Stand Gap Openings
      and Snags

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Non-Forested	Sedge Meadow, Lowland Brush, Bog or Muskeg, Treed Bog
Special Features	Snags, Edges, Riparian, Stand (Gap) Openings

view size class definitions

Literature:

Evers, D. C. 1991. Great Gray Owl. Pages 539-540 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

The Great Gray Owl is a denizen of the boreal forest, preferring open peatlands interspersed with tamarack and black spruce. The few breeding season observations for the Atlas were associated with this typical habitat as well as meandering riverine corridor with sedge-meadow oxbows and adjacent wet mixed forest. Like many owls, the Great Gray Owl does not build its own nest. Instead it uses abandoned hawk and corvid nests and the rotted tops of large snags. Stick nest sites typically are most available in habitats with aspen and birch components.

Since nest sites generally are limited in open tamarack-spruce peatlands, these otherwise suitable breeding habitats can be enhanced with artificial nesting platforms.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: While wintering in settled parts of the country, various woodland types, frequently deciduous are used. Often hunts meadow mice in open fields using fence posts, low trees, shrubbery, and wooded edges as lookouts.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Dense conifer forests, adjacent meadows, bogs. Generally favors country with mix of dense forest for nesting and roosting and open areas for hunting. In the north, mostly around bogs, clearings, and burns in extensive coniferous woods.

Diet: Mostly small mammals. Feeds mainly on voles in many northern areas. Also eats mice, shrews, squirrels, weasels, small birds, rarely frogs.

Nest: Usually uses old abandoned nest of other large bird, such as goshawk, raven, osprey; sometimes nests on top of broken-off snag or stump, rarely on the ground. Site usually 10-50 feet above ground. A pair may reuse the same nest for several years.