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The Northern Hawk Owl at “Q and 57”

The Northern Hawk Owl studies the ground patiently waiting for a small rodent to move.

“Q and 57” has been the concise answer to a multitude of people, throughout Wisconsin and a few neighboring states, upon asking where in Door County the extremely rare Northern Hawk Owl can be found. Drive north of Baileys Harbor on 57 or east of Ephraim on Q until you come to the intersection of County Highway Q and State Highway 57. The bird will usually be seen fairly close to the road within a quarter mile either to the north, east or west of the intersection.

It was Jane Whitney, alert nature observer from Baileys Harbor, who observed the strange bird, slightly larger than a Blue Jay, on Sat. Nov. 24 and reported it as a possible Boreal Owl. Soon George Cobb, skilled and experienced birder from Baileys Harbor, joined the hunt, spotted the creature and identified it as a Northern Hawk Owl. No sooner had the exciting discovery been reported to the Wisconsin Birders Net and good digital images of the small owl been shared, when dozens of birders were on their way to add this highly unusual owl to their life list of birds.

Charlotte and I went to see and photograph the exceptional bird two days later on November 26. Much to our surprise, it was our long-time friend and one of Wisconsin’s best birders, Darryl Tessen from Appleton, who had driven up that morning especially to add this uncommon little owl to his yearly list, who soon spotted the owl perched on one of the power lines just north of the intersection.

To the best of our knowledge, based upon the excellent book, Wisconsin Birdlife, by Sam Robbins, the last and only Northern Hawk Owl ever seen in Door County was reported was in January of 1976 when a dead specimen was found along the edge of State Highway 57 near Institute, northeast of Sturgeon Bay. An attempt was made to prepare a study skin of the owl but it had deteriorated badly and was discarded several years later.

The Northern Hawk Owl glared down at Roy as he made a squeaking sound to imitate a mouse.

Some of my information regarding this bird was obtained through reading Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey, compiled and written starting in 1937 by Arthur Cleveland Bent. It is one of his 25 volumes covering all the native birds of North America. The first new and relatively inexpensive Dover Edition reprint of the Bent series was in 1961, which is when I gradually began accumulating my complete set. Needless to say the references have been invaluable in my learning about North American birds.

The owl is between 15 and 17 inches long, which includes its approximately seven-inch-long tail. Owls in general have short tails, and it is this considerably longer tail, plus the owl’s habit of hunting for nearly all its food during daylight hours that gave the owl its “hawk” name. What soon became apparent as we observed the little raptor was its habit of nervously twitching its tail up and down as it scanned the ground below for food. Many references say that it has the same soundless flight of owls, a trait claimed to be designed by nature so as to not frighten the prey away. A more accurate interpretation is that the Northern Hawk Owl, like other owls, will be capable of hearing the thin vocal or movement noises of a rodent much better without the rushing sound of its own wings which in turn are located very close to the owl’s ears.

A gentleman from northern Illinois, photographing the owl on the same morning as I, showed me some images he took the previous day of the bird clutching a Meadow Vole it had just caught. Chances are good that these small rodents are making up the bulk of its food here, perhaps along with some small mice. In the High North, where this circumpolar non-migratory raptor is a permanent resident, it may come about during winters of extremely deep snow that this bird is forced to make a steady diet of Ptarmigans, considerably larger and heavier than the much smaller owl, that are capable of remaining on top of the snow.

We, too, were impressed by the little owl’s flight speed and also grace aloft. Often it would leave its perch, for example at the very tip of a small conifer, swoop downward to where it quite effortlessly skimmed at nearly ground level, and then suddenly swoop upward to alight on a distant tree or even low shrub. At times it would be scanning the ground from 30 to 40 feet up in a tree or on an electric wire. Often it perched with its body inclined forward, typical of many hawks, or more upright as is typical of most owls.

During the hour we watched the bird it appeared to favor the northwest quadrant of the intersection which generally is half-open woodland, actually fairly park-like in its make-up of mostly small trees and woody growth quite widely spaced. Obviously that property has not been changed or cultivated for some time, offering the small rodents a perfect environment in which to live, feed and reproduce. To the owl, this has been its temporary “super market.”

The rare, seldom-seen owl from the far north carefully examines every faint mouse-like sound.

It was while the Northern Hawk Owl was perched high above me on a power line that the thought occurred to me to kiss the back of my hand and in so doing, produce a mouse-like squeaking. Instantly the bird whipped its head around and peered directly and intently downward at that little “mouse” hiding below in the tall grass alongside the road.

Within minutes of stalking the rare creature it soon became apparent, as most references will tell you, how totally unafraid of humans it is, practically as though you didn’t even exist. Ernest Thompson Seton, the famous nature writer and wild animal expert of years ago, wrote that he heard of a Northern Hawk Owl actually being caught by hand. I’ve seen pictures of one of the tiny Saw-whet Owls being captured by hand, so tame are they, too.

This being the gift-giving season, it has been a small Northern Hawk Owl, like a miniature Santa Claus down from the North Pole, that has provided many serious birders from Wisconsin and a few neighboring states with a most perfect and exciting present, a brand new “lifer” to add to their cherished list of life birds.