Shared by Monica Hoel- volunteer blogger for Hungry Mother State Park, as Guest Blogger.

On a work road trip many years ago, I ran into a shared breakfast area one morning with great delight, exclaiming that I had heard a “hoot owl” in the night.  A coworker smiled wryly and asked, “Is that the Latin name?”

All these years later, I am still working to keep straight the hoots, toots and screeches that help identify who is hoo-hoo-ing outside my window. But I now understand that that distinctive “hoot owl” sound that we associate with owls comes from the beautiful Great Horned Owl. And because they’re beginning their breeding season now, you may be hearing them more often as they begin to establish their territory.

Hungry Mother State Park has an Owl Prowl planned for February 13, at 6:30 a.m. at the boat ramp off Mitchell Valley Road as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is a great way to learn more about owl habitat and life cycle.

Owls have captured our imagination for centuries, and you can find owls represented in ancient art found around the world. Owls have characteristics that set them apart in the bird world. For starters, an owl’s eyes are set in the front of its face -- not on the sides of its head like most birds. That feature, combined with a down-turned beak, actually gives them something of a human-looking face and may contribute to our fascination. And those giant, penetrating eyes are specially designed to allow for excellent night vision.

Owls are also known for their stealth. They hunt for food at night, and during the day, they rest in locations where they are nearly completely camouflaged -- so actually seeing one is a rare treat. And their wings are engineered to have softer edges that allow their flight to be almost entirely silent. With huge talons, powerful wings, and a keen sense of hearing, this is a bird suited for far more than figuring out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. Small mammals know this is a bird to be respected. Great Horned owls can even take down prey as big or bigger than they are.

Great Horned owls have little tufts of feathers on both sides of their heads -- those aren’t really horns, but they may serve to increase their intimidating appearance. Like other owls, they do that crazy thing of rotating their heads in a sort of horror-movie fashion. They do that because their eyes don’t move in the sockets, so they have to rotate their heads to see. And, funny fact, all birds turn their heads around backward like that -- but because owls have thick feathers around their necks, we don’t actually see their necks. So, it looks more menacing and other-worldly than when a goose does it.

Join HMSP for the owl prowl on February 13, and maybe you’ll get to see one of these fascinating birds! Or at least hear the tell-tale hoots that punctuate the darkness.