Customer Reviews

How to Spot an Owl

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I originally got this book when I found a trio of young screech owls in my favorite river area. It gives a lot of information that is USEFUL to people who really want to see owls. Kinds of owls, signs of owls to look for, crisp b/w photos, and some common sense ettiquette. Good book!

Owls are unique and fascinating, but, unfortunately, also quite elusive, which makes their observation quite frustrating for the beginning birder. This guide was written--reluctantly--to lessen some of that frustration. Reluctantly, because, while the authors wish to indroduce the owl to new generations of birders, at the same time they are very concerned about adverse influence that birders can have on owls. The book consists of two parts: an introduction to birding for owls, and the owls of North America. In the latter, each species that is found in North America is discussed to some degree. While the Whiskered Screech Owl, which only occurs near the Mexican-American border in southern Arizon, only has two paragraphs devoted to it, other species are covered by a number of pages. Information is largely anecdotal and easy to read. At least one photograph of most species is included, the quality of which is usually excellent.

When I first picked up this book after hearing excellent reviews I was a little disappointed. It seemed skimpy, only 140 pages with larger print and generous spacing on the pages. After reading it and using some of the techniques and guidelines for owling described in the pages I changed my mind. This book is filled with gems on how to find owls, the behavior and biology of the Owls of North America and excellent photographs of all the species. I even used one of the photos to help a taxadermist model a window killed Boreal Owl from our area.

The authors Pat and Clay Sutton have decades of experience with their passion of finding owls and have lectured across the country on their experiences. They've packed the book with information on finding owl roosts, finding evidence of owls in the field, the strategies and ethics of luring in owls with calls and tapes, identifying probable owl habitats, and listing some of the best places in the country for finding resident and migrant owls such as Whitefish Point, Michigan and Braddock Bay, New York for Saw-whet Owls.

Although this book is not an in depth treatment of the biology of Owls it is a great reference for most birders hoping to find and learn more about owls anywhere in the US and Canada.

If I had only one book to buy about owls, this one is it. It is a howling success!