My grandson asked me to write a blog about owls, so I took up the challenge. Now owls might not be your thing but please read on, you might be surprised.
Maybe you first met an owl in the Hundred Acre Wood, an owl who liked to share his wisdom with Pooh, Eyeore and Piglet and spelt his name, Wol. Or maybe you remember some wise old owls talking late into the night discussing the state of things in the land of Nardia, in The Silver Chair, by CS Lewis. But if you’ve never met an owl before, let me introduce you.
Maybe you first met an owl in the Hundred Acre Wood, an owl who liked to share his wisdom with Pooh, Eyeore and Piglet and spelt his name, Wol. Or maybe you remember some wise old owls talking late into the night discussing the state of things in the land of Nardia, in The Silver Chair, by CS Lewis. But if you’ve never met an owl before, let me introduce you.
Owls are mostly creatures of the night, which probably explains why we don’t meet them too often. However, I often have the dubious pleasure of the company of a Boobook owl who sits on the power lines outside my bedroom window and hoots monotonously into the night.
And then there’s the Powerful Owl I’ve seen on a couple of occasions in the bush opposite my house, probably because its home to their favourite food, possums and sugar gliders. He’s the largest owl in Australia and has a small head for such a very big owl. One year a couple nested and we got to meet baby Powerful Owl.
There are known to be 216 species of owls in the world. Unlike other birds, owls have forward facing and completely immobile eyes. To compensate, they have 14 vertebrae in their neck rather than the usual seven. This enables them to turn their heads 270 degrees as they hunt for prey - extreme motion that in humans would cause blood flow interruptions or arterial injuries. But here's the amazing thing.
Scientists have discovered that owls have a blood-pooling system that collects blood to power their brain and eyes when circulation is cut off. They also have alternative blood vessel routing and types of air cushioning that prevents rupture during violent movement of the head.
And then there’s the Powerful Owl I’ve seen on a couple of occasions in the bush opposite my house, probably because its home to their favourite food, possums and sugar gliders. He’s the largest owl in Australia and has a small head for such a very big owl. One year a couple nested and we got to meet baby Powerful Owl.
There are known to be 216 species of owls in the world. Unlike other birds, owls have forward facing and completely immobile eyes. To compensate, they have 14 vertebrae in their neck rather than the usual seven. This enables them to turn their heads 270 degrees as they hunt for prey - extreme motion that in humans would cause blood flow interruptions or arterial injuries. But here's the amazing thing.
Scientists have discovered that owls have a blood-pooling system that collects blood to power their brain and eyes when circulation is cut off. They also have alternative blood vessel routing and types of air cushioning that prevents rupture during violent movement of the head.
Like humans (and unlike most other birds), they have binocular vision – able to see with both eyes at the same time, giving three-dimensional vision so they can judge the distance to their prey with great accuracy. They have three eyelids. The upper eyelid lowers for blinking, the lower eyelid closes up for sleeping and a third eyelid closes diagonally across the eye to keep the eye clean.
But one of their greatest attributes is their ability to fly and flap silently. Scientists have recognised this for centuries but had never been able to discover how, until the use of high resolution microscopy revealed the answer.
Professor Nigel Peake of Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, explained, “the flight feathers on an owl’s wing have a downy covering. In addition to this fluffy canopy, owl wings also have a flexible comb of evenly spaced bristles along their leading edge, and a porous and elastic fringe on the trailing edge. No other bird has this sort of intricate wing structure … it serves to reduce noise by smoothing the passage of air as it passes over the wing – scattering the sound so their prey can’t hear them coming.” The curvature of owls' wings also helps them fly slowly and silently.
This discovery has opened the door for new ways of designing wind turbines to make them quieter, without a noticeable effect on aerodynamics. The race is on with enormous possibilities. Currently wind turbines are heavily braked to minimise noise, this could mean higher speeds, more electricity and less noise. Research is now underway to also use this knowledge to make planes and drones quieter, but that is at least 20 years away.
But one of their greatest attributes is their ability to fly and flap silently. Scientists have recognised this for centuries but had never been able to discover how, until the use of high resolution microscopy revealed the answer.
Professor Nigel Peake of Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, explained, “the flight feathers on an owl’s wing have a downy covering. In addition to this fluffy canopy, owl wings also have a flexible comb of evenly spaced bristles along their leading edge, and a porous and elastic fringe on the trailing edge. No other bird has this sort of intricate wing structure … it serves to reduce noise by smoothing the passage of air as it passes over the wing – scattering the sound so their prey can’t hear them coming.” The curvature of owls' wings also helps them fly slowly and silently.
This discovery has opened the door for new ways of designing wind turbines to make them quieter, without a noticeable effect on aerodynamics. The race is on with enormous possibilities. Currently wind turbines are heavily braked to minimise noise, this could mean higher speeds, more electricity and less noise. Research is now underway to also use this knowledge to make planes and drones quieter, but that is at least 20 years away.
Not all owls are nocturnal some are diurnal (active during the day), including Northern Pygmy owls which are only six inches long. And thought to be the largest owl in the world, the Blakiston Fish Owl, has a wingspan of 2 metres and spends much of his time wading in the shallows, hunting for prey.
So not all owls live in trees. There are Burrowing Owls that take up residence in discarded squirrel holes. They can fly as well as using their long legs to run and capture prey.
And speaking of legs, owls have three toes or talons pointing forwards and one backwards but they can rotate one of the forward pointing talons to the back to better grip their prey. Some owls have feathers on their feet to protect them from the cold.
Did I mention that owls can hear up to 10 times better than humans? They can locate their prey in total darkness, using only their hearing. Each ear is slightly different and positioned with one ear a little higher and more forward than the other. The owls' face works in a similar way to humans' outer ears - collecting and directing sound toward the inner ears.
So not all owls live in trees. There are Burrowing Owls that take up residence in discarded squirrel holes. They can fly as well as using their long legs to run and capture prey.
And speaking of legs, owls have three toes or talons pointing forwards and one backwards but they can rotate one of the forward pointing talons to the back to better grip their prey. Some owls have feathers on their feet to protect them from the cold.
Did I mention that owls can hear up to 10 times better than humans? They can locate their prey in total darkness, using only their hearing. Each ear is slightly different and positioned with one ear a little higher and more forward than the other. The owls' face works in a similar way to humans' outer ears - collecting and directing sound toward the inner ears.
A Tawny frogmouth - often mistakenly thought to be an owl
I'm in awe of the design and minute detail that comes together to fit an owl for the purpose for which it was created. I love the challenge it affords scientists to see how this masterpiece of nature can help solve some of the problems of the present age.
It's all there in nature - the sources of healing, the engineering solutions and even the aerodynamic and architectural answers, if only we have the eyes to see and the curiosity and wonder to explore.
And something you don't see every day, an owl floating on a sea of ice.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/563782300468953/permalink/847651752082005/
This video was taken on 1/20/18 by Gary Cranfield on lake Ontario
NB. One owl is an awesome thing but when you get a group of owls, it’s said you have a ‘parliament’. In Greek mythology, the owl is the symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, so I guess that means that parliament is thought of as the seat of wisdom … well possibly in the land of Narnia but not, may I say, the parliament of today.
It's all there in nature - the sources of healing, the engineering solutions and even the aerodynamic and architectural answers, if only we have the eyes to see and the curiosity and wonder to explore.
And something you don't see every day, an owl floating on a sea of ice.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/563782300468953/permalink/847651752082005/
This video was taken on 1/20/18 by Gary Cranfield on lake Ontario
NB. One owl is an awesome thing but when you get a group of owls, it’s said you have a ‘parliament’. In Greek mythology, the owl is the symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, so I guess that means that parliament is thought of as the seat of wisdom … well possibly in the land of Narnia but not, may I say, the parliament of today.
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