Wildlife Promise » snowy owls http://blog.nwf.org The National Wildlife Federation's blog Sat, 25 May 2013 16:04:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Why Owls Are So Hoot Right Now – #Hoot2Give http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/hoot2give/ http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/hoot2give/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:04:33 +0000 Danielle Brigida http://blog.nwf.org/?p=72184 Read more >]]> Have you heard? OWLS are so HOOT right now! That’s why we’re in caHOOTS with craigconnects and craiglist’s Craig Newmark to celebrate these amazing creatures.

Each time you use the hashtag #Hoot2Give on Twitter, Craig will donate $1 to National Wildlife Federation (up to $5,000) to support our efforts to help owls and other wildlife.

So join us in having a bit of fun appreciating owls. Tweet your favorite photos or videos, share stories, articles or your best owl pun, and help honor owls this holiday season.

Craig tweeted his own kickoff to the fundraiser:

Here are just a few fun owl photos and facts that are ready-made to tweet!

1. A snowy owl will attack any predators, including wolves, that threaten its ground nest.

Snowy Owl Photo by Marcia Bromley

 

2. Burrowing owls collect mammal waste to attract dung beetles, one of their favorite foods.

Burrowing Owl Photo by Bill Dodsworth

 

3. A Northern saw-whet is named for one of its calls that sounds like a saw being whetted.

Northern Saw-whet Photo by John Kirchner

 

4. Barred owls have a call that sounds like, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you allll?”
(Listen and watch one here>>)

Barred Owl Photo by Amy Marques

 

5. Snowy owls have lots of names: ghost owls, tundra ghosts, Arctic owls and great white owls.

Snowy owl

Snowy Owl Photo by Kevin McCarthy

 

6. Barn owls will swallow their prey whole and locate their prey on sound alone.

Barn Owl Photo by Marie Aufderheide

 

7. Burrowing owls will sometimes use abandoned burrows of prairie dogs, armadillos, skunks or pocket gophers.

Burrowing owlet

Burrowing Owl Photo by Amy Marques

 

8.  A group of owls is called a parliament.

Great Horned Owlets by Lois Settlemeyer

 

9. Owls are silent fliers and nocturnal hunters making them very effective predators.

Barred Owl by Laura Kalina

 

10. Great grey owls are very reclusive. Plunge marks in the snow are usually the only evidence for its presence.

Great Grey Owl by Kameron Perensovich

By tweeting any of these facts you’ll be helping owls and wildlife in several ways! Know any additional facts we should share? Write them in the comments! Also, we’re on the lookout for great owl puns, so please share that with us as well!

]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/hoot2give/feed/ 7