A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Hawk Owl:Hawk Owl Mengqucivak This is one owl you don't have to look for during the night, for it hunts mostly during the daytime. In Alaska, this means you might see it anytime over the course of our long summer days. If you are lucky enough to come across one of these interesting birds, watch it closely and you'll see why it's called Hawk owl. Notice how it flies Goshawklike, straight and rapid on short, pointed wings, and the way it hunts low to the ground, flapping and gliding like a Northern harrier. Watch the way it hovers like an American kestrel, and even perches and jerks its long tail like one. But, no doubt about it, it is an owl. It is actually one of our smallest owls, and might be confused with the Boreal owl, which is also found in many parts of Alaska. But look closer and you'll see that the Hawk owl's underparts and tail are cross-barred and that it is several inches taller than the Boreal because of its unusually long tail. The Yupik people also recognize this owl's similarity to hawks. One of its names, Eskaviaq, is also the name they give to Gyrfalcon, Goshawk and Sharp-shinned hawk. Two other names, Mengqucivak (Yukon area) and Qaku'urtaq (Scammon Bay) relate more to one of the owl's loud screeching calls, although Qaku'urtaq is the name Scammon Bay people also give to the Goshawk and Northern harrier. For those interested in the scientific name, Surnia ulula, the origin of Surnia has been lost, but ulula is a Latin term used to describe another of the owl's calls. This is actually an unusual species name, since normally in the western tradition scientific monikers are not imitative of birds' calls. Whoever named it must have been a poet. So much for names. Let me tell you about its love life. Like many other birds, a part of Mengqucivak's courtship involves ritual feeding of the female by the male, especially toward the end of the courtship period. The two owls also engage in a duet of song, including a rolling, trilling whistle or ululation, similar to that of the Boreal owl, but much faster. By this stage the couple have already found a good nesting spot, which is usually in the hollow tops of dead spruce and birch trees, as well as in natural tree hollows, abandoned woodpecker holes and deserted nests of ravens and birds or prey. In this nest they lay 3-9 glossy white eggs, the number varying with the abundance of rodents. Incubation is done mainly by the female, although the male feeds the female during the entire time she is on the eggs. He is also fearless in defense of the nest against would-be intruders. The young hatch about 28 days later, and both adults cooperate in feeding them. Their daily fare is the same as for the adults, which includes voles, lemmings, shrews, young snowshoe hares, ground squirrels, weasels, ptarmigan, grouse, small birds and insects. Rather than swallow these animals whole as their parents do, however, they eat them piecemeal, at least until they're old enough to handle the increased roughage and burp the bones, etc., back up as pellets. With their ravenous appetites, the young grow quickly and fledge from their nest in about a month. Soon thereafter they have learned how to hunt and do as their parents do. If you're observant, you might find one of the pellets I mentioned above. Owls, unlike hawks, swallow their food whole, or mostly so. When they eat a small animal, they digest all but the bones, fur and feathers. They then regurgitate the remains as hard, felted or feathered pellets. Where they have eaten insects, the pellets also contain the indigestible parts of the insect exoskeletons. If you do find a pellet, take it home or to your classroom, soak it in warm water, carefully dissect it and examine the remains under a magnifying glass to try to identify some of the owl's prey. Summer is gone all too soon here in Alaska, and when the snows of winter begin to accumulate, the weather becomes much colder, and prey is scarce these owls start heading for warmer climes. Whether they stay in Alaska or go farther south to Canada and the Lower 48, their family bonds are strong. The young remain with their parents during the winter months, and the following spring even migrate together as a family unit back to their nesting territory. Once here, however, the family separates and the young search for their own niche where they will begin the cycle of courting, ululation, incubation, feeding and fledging all over again. Which is the way it should be.  |
