This time of year is a bit slow. Migratory season is coming to an end and nesting season isn’t quite here yet. A lot of what is coming through my feeds looks all the same to me and it’s a bit uninspiring some days.
Are there any birds or topics you’d like to hear about?
You want more rare birds? There isn’t always much to say about them, since there aren’t many photos or facts, so I don’t always cover them much.
Got any anatomy or physiology questions? I like reading about flight, digestion, respiration, etc but most of you seem to enjoy more lighthearted things than technical, but I’m sure some of you have questions.
Is there just some particular owl you’d like to see more of? I usually post new things, but if you just want to see more of something special, I can browse the owl archives. Or is there a part of the world you’d like to know about. South America and Australia I’d say are the least covered recently.
Let me know!
I don’t particularly know much about owls in general. I enjoy seeing all the owls you post and any all fun facts! Thank you!
I’m glad you’re having fun!
Never be afraid to ask me even the most basic of questions. I don’t mind answering them, as I know new people are joining our group all the time.
I’ve also got to make an owl presentation for our upcoming open house event, so it lets me know what questions owl noobs have, so I can be prepared. I want to do some stuff with what local owls we have, size vs weight to show how light they are for their size, and a feather display to show how different their feathers are compared to other birds, and also something about how their hearing works.
I’d like random owl facts, just a quick sentence or two! That’d be interesting. I like owl photos no matter what though
I have been thinking I need to throw in some basic beginner level facts to get our new members caught up. I will try to get on that!
You do a lot of posting… Is the fact more exciting used as the post title, or in the body after a briefer, catchy title?
I’m having #catfacts flashbacks now.
Did you know owls can fly? Above ground even! #owlfacts
I want owls!
A wise guy? I got your owls right here!
I’ll take the whole shelf, please.
Owls.
I like when people are easy to please. 😁
I love all the technical info! I also enjoy learning about owl behaviour, especially when they interact with other species.
I do too! I get they’re cute and amazing on the outside, but I like learning more about what it must feel like to be an owl.
My problem with techy posts cuts 2 ways. They take a long time to do, since I have to dig to find articles, they don’t often just pop up since this stuff is super niche, and then I have to break it down a lot so I can understand it. Then I also feel limited when I can share this stuff here, since it’s going to either be a long post or a technical post, and I don’t know if that is just boring to too many of you or if you just don’t time to read something that in truth through most of the week and then never get back to it, but they get a low vote most times, and it makes me feel like that’s not time well spent.
I try to post them Friday through Sunday when I assume you have more time to read with more concentration. Is this good for you guys?
I have a few detailed documents and research papers bookmarked. I have a big document about Boreal Owls, and I know I have a study about Powerful Owls learning how to cross the road, basically starting to learn how to deal with cats.
Got any anatomy or physiology questions?
I don’t have specific qurstions but I love cool anatomy facts! Anything in this area would be cool for me
We’ve covered eyes and ears a bunch. We did respiration and eye removal recently, which I found fascinating.
I did read an article recently about how the fact birds have hollow bones doesn’t necessarily make them lighter that I don’t think got shared here (or maybe someone linked it in a comment and then I read the whole thing?).
Maybe I can find some other organs they have or do something on feather growth or egg development. How their muscles attach to withstand the forces of flight is another thing I’ve been curious about.
Ooh eye removal? I missed that, gonna go look for it now, thanks!
Yeah, I wonder how their muscles work too. Not just owls, but birds in general, especially the ones that can fly for days.
Breathing is interesting too because it’s so different from humans. Or things like how do their feet stay warm? How do they get by when food is scarce? Do they have fat reserves? How long do they live? Can you fly with puffed-up feathers, or do you just get cold?
I could go on :) I know the detailed posts don’t seem to get as much love, but I appreciate them. I know how much work it can be. I think that kind of stuff tends to do better when it’s as short and simple as possible. Easier said than done:)
That bird had an amazing journey! 😮
I’ve covered Saw Whet fat reserves once before, they can lose up to 20% body weight in a single day of migration.
The why their legs don’t freeze off I just covered recently, and that was a fun one for me because I hadn’t known the answer to that one. Check that out here.
I try to keep in mind you all aren’t here for “owl school” and keep it brief, but I also want to give enough to hook you into it. But I’ll always link my sources so it’s all there for anyone who wants it!
If you have time, I’d love to hear more about rare birds!
There have been a few owls recently discovered or that have become unique species, like the spectacled owl from Brazil that was just upgraded to its own species the other week. I love covering those, since there is stuff to talk about.
Some of the rare species are in very remote places where not many people can photograph or study them, and I kinda feel bad that the surprise of some of the owls falls flat right away.
Like: here’s this exciting thing you’ve never heard of! Now let me tell you it’s been spotted 3 times over 100 years, and we think it probably eats beetles, the end.
In cases where nobody really knows anything, what else would you enjoy hearing about? The remote island or forest where it lives? Its possible closest relative? The person who is credited for discovering it?
To myself, I feel like I just end up saying this is a Scops Owl or Boobook, but a slightly different color, so I’m not sure how to sell it as something exciting if I don’t have any unique things to highlight.
For me, things like where does it live? What’s it like there? Maybe there’s something interesting about the place or the people.
And what did it take to find the critter? There’s often a story behind it, whether it’s spending months trying to find a lone wolf that’s walking hundreds of miles to find a new territory, or teaching ibises to migrate. Or even just putting up camera traps in the woods to try to spot a rare lynx.
The one owl discovery I shared was such a great story. I think it was the guy just heard a bird around he’d never heard before and chased it until he found it, and it was a brand new owl!
I know for some others I’ve shared some details and photos of their biomes. Ones like the Cloud Forest Pygmy and the Chaco Owl gave mystical sounding names, and while these aren’t hard to encounter (I’ve seen a Chaco Owl!) their names aren’t so obvious to most of us because they’re named after where they’re from.
I did like you said and said where the Cloud Forest and the Chaco Plateau were and talked about what type of climate and elevation they were and added some photos so people could visualize it.
I even enjoy doing that for some of the historic looking European places or spots in the Southwest USA since even those of us that are American or European haven’t seen many of these spots. Glad to know you all are enjoying that as well.
