Owls in Maine: 11 Most Common Owls with Pictures for You to Identify

Maine has many remarkable tourist attractions. One of the main ones is the extent of wildlife in the state. Many owl species call Maine home. And more still come to visit every year. If you’re in the Pine Tree State, looking for owls, here’s a guide on the 11 different owl species in Maine. 1. Great Gray Owl Scientific name: Strix nebulosa Length: 24 to 33 inches Weight: 32 to 39 ounces Wingspan: 55 inches Average life span: 12 to 20 years Status:Least concern The Great Gray Owl is the largest owl in the world, but most of that size is just feathers. They have silvery-brown feathers that cover their entire body. Top Tip:Adult Great Gray Owls do have a pop of color. Their eyes are bright yellow and they have orange beaks. They mostly like to live in colder areas, and you can scarcely see them in Maine. The cold provides a great environment for them to hunt and breed. Great Gray Owls mostly feed on small rodents and they prefer voles. You can find them hunting in large, open grasslands. When hunting, the Great Gray Owl will perch on a low branch waiting to pounce. But you can sometimes find them flying close to the ground looking for food. To help them hunt, they have exceptional hearing. Great Gray Owls can hear prey even if they’re hiding under two feet of snow. In the wild, they tend to be quiet birds. They can make deep ‘who’ sounds but only do it around their breeding ground. These owls are among the more friendly birds of prey, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fierce hunter. Scientific name: Aegolius funereus Length: 8.3 to 11 inches Weight: 3 to 7.6 ounces Wingspan: 24 inches Average life span: 10 to 16 years

Maine has many remarkable tourist attractions.