Great Gray Owl -- South Dakota Birds

Great Gray Owl

Strix nebulosa

An extremely rare winter visitor to the state.    The only record upon publication of 1991 edition of "The Birds of South Dakota" (South Dakota Ornithologist Union, 1991) was a dead specimen found in January, 1984 near Dell Rapids (Bradwisch).  However, in the winter of 1999, Vogelmann found a specimen perched on a dead tree stump in his back yard between Sioux Falls and Brandon!!  Large numbers of the species were found in the Sax-Zim Bog region near Duluth, Minnesota in the winter of 2004/2005, and are the source of all of  the photos found on this page.

Habitat: Dense conifer forests, adjacent meadows, bogs.  Generally prefers mix of dense forest and open areas.

Diet: Mostly small mammals, including voles, pocket gophers, mice, shrews, squirrels, and weasels.

Breeding: Non-Breeder in South Dakota

Song: A bold, deep, booming hoo-hoo-hooo; also utters single-note hoots.

Migrations: Extremely rare winter visitor.  Permanent resident in Canada and the Northern Rockies.

Similar Species: Generally distinctive, but possibly confused with the Barred Owl.

Status: Possible decline in southern part of its range, but the majority of its range is in areas with little human disturbance.

Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Great Gray Owl

2) Cornell University's "All About Birds - Great Gray Owl"

3) eNature.com -- Great Gray Owl

Photo Information: December 13th, 2004 - Near Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

Additional Photos:  Click on the image chips or text links below for additional, higher-resolution Great Gray Owl photos.

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl

This page was last edited on 02/08/08