This is a Great Gray Owl. The species is the largest owl in the world, length from 24" to 33". The owl is surprisingly light for the size...due to the plumage. This owl is a year around resident in the forests around my home.
Now to the story....one night at 2:20 am...bang, bang! No electricity! Flashes of orange electrical light from the utility pole on the fence line. One of these birds had decided to land on the top of the power pole...on the "hot" wires. Yes, it did die instantly.
I was very concerned with the possibility of wildfire.The grass is completely dead from about 90 days of no rain and a hot summer. I was extremely lucky that no sparks started a fire. Why? When there is no electricity, there is no water from the well. The fire station would take a long time to get here, and by then everything would be on fire. I could try to bucket water to the location from the pool, and wet down some old towels. The grass is still standing dead, and waist high. I should have nagged hubby to cut it last June.......
About the Owl, it makes me sad because the birds are rare and that bird probably used many utility poles to hunt from, and they are good hunters. The feathers were pretty burned up, but the body stayed on top of the pole....and that is why there wasn't a wildfire.
