Wise and Wonderful

Feb 10, 2021

By Christian Begeman

Late last year I was asked to edit a video for Perkins County author and musician Eliza Blue to celebrate the new PBS Masterpiece series “All Creatures Great and Small.” I remember the original series played often on our TV back in the day. SDPB was the only channel we could tune in clearly, so whether I found it interesting or not my only option was such programming. I’m not complaining. My love for nature, history and geography owes a great deal to public broadcasting. This particular television show (and book from which it is based) derives its name from an Anglican hymn called “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” This hymn wasn’t one that was sung frequently in my home church, but even so, when I heard Eliza’s meditative version, I was more than happy to help with the video.

A small problem emerged. What would I use to cover the lyric, “All things wise and wonderful?” I remember joking with Eliza that video of an owl, which I didn’t have, would work perfectly. Fast forward to a winter’s walk in a heavy snowfall at Big Sioux Recreation Area on the edge of Brandon. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of something I’d never seen before: a barred owl, relaxed as it sat out the weather. I took a few photos and then remembered my video assignment. I switched the camera to video mode, propped myself against the nearest tree trunk for steadiness and got my “wise” owl footage.

Why are owls portrayed as wise? Their rounded face is probably the most compelling reason. With a shortened beak and large eyes, an owl’s face seems more humanlike than other birds. Not all cultures see owls as wise and benevolent, however. The Lakota sometimes interpret them as bad omens, messengers between the world of life and death. Since the owl is a skilled hunter of the night, silent on the wing but sometimes quite spooky when making sounds, I can understand.

Throughout the year, up to nine owl species can be found in South Dakota. I have seen and photographed all but one. The Eastern screech owl has avoided me quite successfully over the years. I find this ironic as screechers often live closer to humans than other owls and are quite abundant, according to the experts. This year, I noticed a large number of short-eared owls in the spring and summer West River. This winter the numbers seem to be quite high East River; a troop has entertained birders in the Big Sioux River flats southwest of Brookings since Christmas.

One of the most unique owl species that sometimes graces us is the snowy owl. This large white owl lives and breeds in the arctic tundra, but every few years large numbers of them descend southward in what is called an irruption. I first saw a snowy in 2011 near Okobojo, north of Pierre. In 2018, northwest Sioux Falls had three snowy owls that hung around for at least two weeks. One crisp Saturday, I watched nearly all morning as a snowy sat preening, stretching and snoozing atop a light pole just outside of work. This winter, I heard there were four in Spink County near Redfield. Last Saturday I set out to find them. I wasn’t disappointed. I located three of the four, including one very white and regal male. I’ve gathered those new photos for this column and have included some other favorites from over the years. Owls species not pictured here but found in other columns of mine in the past include the Northern saw-whet owl, long-eared owl and barn owl.