** First this morning, I want to say thank you to all of our friends and readers who donated and offered their time to help us recover from the flood. The Meramec River reportedly crested at 38 feet yesterday, two feet lower than what had been predicted, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we managed to escape the worst. I will post an update as soon as I know the extent of the damage. On a cheerier note: Eurasian Eagle Owls! These fantastic creatures are just one example of what your support makes possible. Thank you.
If there were an international cuteness award for baby raptors (and there should be!) I think the Eurasian Eagle Owl (EEO) would win every year. The EEO is one of the largest owls in the world, standing 24-28 inches tall with a wingspan in excess of 5 feet! In England, these owls were persecuted to near extinction in the late 19th century. The oldest recorded eagle owl lived to be 68 years old. An eagle owl weighing 6.5 - 8.5 pounds can take prey as large as a roe deer weighing 28-30 pounds.
In the wild, this owl is an accomplished hunter, dieting primarily on mammals but extending their menu to include fish, birds, reptiles, and even insects when need be. They catch their prey in the air, on the ground, or even plunging into water! During the first half of the 20th century, Eurasian eagle owls saw tremendous declines in population due to habitat loss, persecution, disease, and poisoning. Even today, many of us use poison to kill rats and other household pets, without realizing we are also killing those very animals that help keep pest populations under control!
Thanks to efforts including education and re-introduction, EEOs have made a partial recovery in Europe.
These pictures chart the growth of Eurasian Eagle Owl chicks at WBS from 11-77 days. They were taken by our good friend and talented photographer Gay Schroer:
If there were an international cuteness award for baby raptors (and there should be!) I think the Eurasian Eagle Owl (EEO) would win every year. The EEO is one of the largest owls in the world, standing 24-28 inches tall with a wingspan in excess of 5 feet! In England, these owls were persecuted to near extinction in the late 19th century. The oldest recorded eagle owl lived to be 68 years old. An eagle owl weighing 6.5 - 8.5 pounds can take prey as large as a roe deer weighing 28-30 pounds.
In the wild, this owl is an accomplished hunter, dieting primarily on mammals but extending their menu to include fish, birds, reptiles, and even insects when need be. They catch their prey in the air, on the ground, or even plunging into water! During the first half of the 20th century, Eurasian eagle owls saw tremendous declines in population due to habitat loss, persecution, disease, and poisoning. Even today, many of us use poison to kill rats and other household pets, without realizing we are also killing those very animals that help keep pest populations under control!
Thanks to efforts including education and re-introduction, EEOs have made a partial recovery in Europe.
These pictures chart the growth of Eurasian Eagle Owl chicks at WBS from 11-77 days. They were taken by our good friend and talented photographer Gay Schroer:
11 days old
14 days old
17 days old
34 days old
48 days old
77 Days (check out those big feet!)For more information on EEOs, check out www.peregrinefund.org, which was a valuable source for this post.
Is that Bessy, or George? I raised, and lost a lot of blood to both of them :).
ReplyDeleteSorry, Daniel -- I wasn't aware they were already named. When I was coming down to photo them I was more interested in recording their astounding growth rate.
ReplyDelete