Stowaway Owl Options

[John Wright]

I am a teacher at D.H. Conley High School and learned of your journey from Sue Purser. Sue alerted me to your photos based on my bird knowledge.

The stowaway is definitely a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus). Long-eared owls are migratory, so it would not be out of the question to find one that had lost its way. Many land birds will seek shelter on ships when caught on the open ocean.

The only question might be the origin of the bird, since it is found in Eurasia as well as North America. Eurasian land birds headed north frequently show up on the Aleutians, the Pribilofs, and St. Lawrence during May.