Festival of Owls Weekend

This coming weekend in Houston, TX there are educational activities and entertainment from owl enthusiasts.

The weekend started because of an injured Great Horned Owl and a woman in Austin who cared for her and used her to educate people about owls.

We agree that owls are so fascinating.  These predators have so many different qualities that make them special and oh so interesting.

You will find 19 different owl species in North America.  Many are in local woods where you can find and observe them.  Pretty cool birds.

So much of their makeup allows them to be fierce predators.  They eat voles, mice and some even eat smaller owls.

Who needs symmetrical ears, not owls.  Asymmetrical ears allow owls to find sounds with great precision and in multiple dimensions.

You have seen eyeballs on owls right?  Well it turns out they are really eyeballs as we know them because they don’t move. Built in binoculars.

No eyeballs, no problem.  Their heads can rotate 270 degrees to search an area.

Barn owls swallow their prey whole, about 1,000 mice each year, skins, bones and all.  Gulp.

Owls have four toes, two that face forward and two that face backwards.  To walk and grip one back toe can pivot to help.

There are many more fun facts about owls.  One last one.

The smallest owl in the world is an Elf Owl, 5-6 inches tall and about 1-½ ounces.

The largest owl is the Great Gray Owl which can grow up to 32 inches tall.  

Private Home Health Care finds owls very intriguing.  We wish we could travel to Austin this weekend.  Instead we’ll keep our eyes out now and in the Spring for owls in woods near us.