Bird Watching -The Great Horned Owl
Charlie Nature

One of the largest birds in New York, the Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, builds its nest high up in a large tree in mid-January. Two-three eggs are laid in mid February that hatch in late March. To feed their young, the parents swoop down and catch prey (rodents) that venture out but, unwittingly become part of the food chain. 
The bird is 20 inches in length with a wingspan averaging 55 inches, weighing 3-4 pounds. Both the male and female look similar. They are very large with prominent ear-tufts, yellow eyes, talons and dark sharp bill. Their upperparts are mottled brown, gray, and black. Their under-parts are pale with fine brown bars. The owl’s face has reddish-brown facial disks bordered by black with a lower border of white. There is a small white throat patch on their throat.
The song of the Great Horned Owl is a series of distinctive hoots. They use the call to establish territories and find a mate. Of course, if you hear a great horned owl call, that is a great identification aid. Their call is a series of deep hoots, from 3 to 8 notes long, and sounds like - "Whose Awake, Me Too", with the "Me Too" part descending in tone or who-who-ah-whoo, who-ah-whoo. Like a coyote howl, the call of the great horned owl is a classic sound of the wild and can be heard a long way off. And when nesting pairs of great horned owls call, the female has the higher pitched voice.
Great horned owls occur all over the United States and most of Canada, and southward to Central and South America to the Straits of Magellan. They are one of the most widespread species of owls. They mostly reside year round in their territories, but ones from the far north move southward in fall or winter.
Great horned owls tend to perch during the daylight hours in a protected rocky alcove or on a tree limb. They mainly hunt at night, but may hunt in daylight hours. From a quiet perch, the owl listens for sounds that betray a creature's presence. They may move about from tree to tree to get a better fix on the source of the sound. Once they pinpoint the sound, the owl silently swoops in, spreads its talons wide and pounces on its prey - known as the "perch and pounce" hunting method. Smaller prey is swallowed whole, but larger prey animals are torn into pieces.
So when you are out cross country skiing this winter, keep in mind that one of the world’s finest predators is setting up home and keeping the rodent population in check. If you happen to record its beautiful call, the Library of Natural Sounds at Cornell University wants it for its collection.