Mystery Owl - Who You Gonna Call?

By Brownstone Day School students - Lakewood

A class of students from the Brownstone Day School in Lakewood snapped this terrific photo outside their classroom and wondered if the pint-sized owl was a baby. Luckily, the class had the wildlife staff at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center to give them some insight and information about their backyard discovery.

We loved the photo so much, we asked if we could share it, along with the information our Wildlife Education & Rehabliation Coordinator, Amy LeMonds, had for them:
That is an adult Northern Saw-whet Owl. It is the smallest owl found in this state and in the Eastern U.S. There are a couple of smaller owl species found in the Western U.S.
Saw-whet Owls are found here all year and eat small mammals like mice. When there is tons of snow they will keep a cache of food which freezes and when they are ready to eat it they thaw it by incubating it like an egg. They hunt with their excellent night vision and specialized hearing. The owl's oval face (which creates a disc shape to gather sound waves - like when you see a cat's ears move to “capture” sounds) and asymmetrical ears give them such good hearing.
Below is a link to Ohio Division of Wildlife which has excellent native animal info.
http://dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/sawwhetowl/tabid/6924/Default.aspx
Thanks and let me know if you ever have wildlife questions in the future. - Amy LeMonds

Wildlife is waking up for spring and increasingly active this time of year. There's a lot to see and discover in your own backyard. Enjoy the show!