Giving a Hoot About Owls & Creation

 

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call... 

...I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
    like a little owl of the waste places.
 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.

Psalm 102:1-2, 6-7 NRSVue  

Any group of owls seen travelling together or behaving in the same manner as another is described as a parliament of owls.

My kids know my interests so it was a pleasant surprise which wasn't actually all that surprising when I received Jennifer Ackerman's latest book, What an Owl Knows, for Father's Day.  Ackerman is a marvellous, accessible writer in the great realm of birds and this book is blowing the mind of this codger.

For most of us owls are elusive and mysterious, in part because they are skilled nocturnal hunters, although not exclusively at night. They can be found on all the continents except Antarctica, in a multitude of sizes, and survive in nearly every climate. One species is small and swift enough to pick off a hummingbird while another is large enough to hunt fawns. 

                                                               Harry Potter and Hedwig

Owls are the only species of bird with front-facing eyes and the concave dish of their faces may have multiple densities and textures of adjustable feathers to aid in catching the sounds of prey. We may think of owls as solitary, as the psalmist suggests, but they can come together. Because owls are considered wise,in lore a collective is called a parliament, so we need to find a different term for Canadian owls. 

Of course, ornitholigists will remind us that these are evolutionary adaptations and I have no trouble accepting this. At the same time owls are a wonder of Creator and Creation for me. I'm content to live with the tension between evolution and creation. I know that I've seen Great Grey and Great Horned owls, Snowy and Barred owls, sometimes close at hand. I've seen others I couldn't identify and they may have been other species among the eleven found in Ontario. It's always a thrill and a delight, and as I delve further into What An Owl Knows I do want to see more. 

                                                         Snowy Owl in Flight -- Jim Zuckerman