Hoot’s There?

Daylight Dinner Dash or Midnight Meal Mission?

Not all owls are creatures of the night! While many owls — like the Great Horned Owl — are nocturnal nighttime hunters with super hearing and night vision, others, like the Northern Pygmy Owl, prefer the daytime. Why? It all comes down to how they hunt and what they eat.

Northern Pygmy Owls rely more on their sharp eyesight than sound to find prey like songbirds, which are also active during the day. Since they don’t have the super-sensitive ears or facial discs that help other owls hear in the dark, they hunt when it’s light out.

The Barred Owl and the Northern Saw-whet Owl are primarily active at night, but they are also considered “crepuscular”, which means they hunt their prey at dawn or dusk.

Whether day or night, every owl has its own perfect time to strike — and their own special tools to get the job done!