The Hidden Lives of Owls: The Science and Spirit of Nature's Most Elusive Birds

by Leigh Calvez

“You’ll come away from this riveting book blessed with owl wisdom that will enlarge your world forever.” —Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of an OctopusIn this New York Times bestseller, Leigh Calvez explores the night forest to uncover the secret lives of owls in this illuminating book for birders, animal lovers, and readers of H is for Hawk. Join a naturalist on her adventures into the world of owls, owl-watching, avian science, and the deep forest—often in the dead of night. Whether you’re tracking snowy or great horned owls, these birds are a bit mysterious, and that’s part of what makes them so fascinating. In The Hidden Lives of Owls, Leigh Calvez pursues 11 different owl species—including the Barred, Flammulated, Northern Saw-Whet, Northern Pygmy, Northern Spotted, Burrowing, Snowy, and Great Gray. In an entertaining and accessible style, Calvez relays the details of her avian studies, from the thuggish behavior of barred owls—which puts the spotted owl at risk—to the highly unusual appearance of arctic snowy owls in the Lower 48, which directly reflects the state of the vole population in the Arctic.   As Calvez takes readers into the lives of these strange and majestic creatures, she also explores questions about the human-animal connection, owl obsession, habitat, owl calls, social behavior, and mythology. Hoot!

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Birds, Animals, Audiobook, Biology

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 16, 2016

Reviews

[Edith · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 1/2 stars. Do yourself a favor: If you are thinking of reading a personal journal of encounters with owls, read Tony Angell's "The House of Owls," not this book. If you want to read of a genuine and serious encounter with a bird of prey, read "H is for Hawks," not this book. The only things to recommend "Hidden Lives" are indeed the wonderful illustrations by Tony Angell. (Actually as an object, this book is a handsomely produced one, on nice paper and well designed.)

Why didn't I like this book? First, this book is not really about owls, it's about Ms. Calvez, and her reactions to owls and other people. This wouldn't necessarily be an issue if she were a better writer, but Ms. Calvez is a poor stylist and a clumsy writer. Second, the information about owls is scattered all over the place, which might not be annoying to some readers, but it was to me. Third, this book could have used some maps.

Fourth, and most serious, Ms. Calvez seems to suffer from a complete lack of imagination about what it might be to be an owl. She seems not to have figured out that owls, like any other living being, are driven by biological imperatives. Owls do not "adopt" their plumage, any more than humans "adopt" their skin colors. "One of my favorite qualities of wild species is just that--they are wild," she says. "They are free to move about the earth in their own time for their own purpose, a luxury that we as humans rarely experience. They come and they go as they please, showing up sometimes where we least expect them." This is the thinking of a child. Owls are no more free to do what they wish (if we could imagine what might be the equivalent of wishing in an owl) than any other creature who must find food, shelter, a mate, and raise young. If I wished to spend time with someone who thought this way, I would find myself a real child, and go owling with him or her. It would be a much more genuine and illuminating experience than spending time with this author and this book.

[Austin Dobrik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Owls are boring as shit, this is just the story of some lady walking around the forest and feeling deeply connected to birds after they look at her.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was originally going to give this 4 stars because the first chapters were pretty clinical (amazing, full of info, but clinical); author goes out and find owls and describes the process. But the last couple of chapters brought a personal element that I really enjoyed which lifted it up.

I would recommend this to any bird lover, environmental enthusiast, or Pacific NW-er (you'll enjoy seeing places you know).

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leigh Calvez and I have two things in common: we both love owls. Also, we both have a lot of experience with owl observation. My experience has been witnessing a pair of great horned owls pair bond, mate, brood eggs, and raise families over the past 11 years. Leigh has done many more things with owls and many different kinds of owls...from the tiniest saw-whet owl to the large great grey owl. She records these experiences in this book. The reader learns more and more about owls from her experiences in helping experts capture, tag, record, count, and observe owls in the northwest of the United States. For me, this was an enlightening and fascinating read.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice read. Science mixed with a naturalist's interpretations and emotions presented in clear text. Knowing many of the locations and a few of the people in the stories made this book very real and enjoyable for me. My own feelings toward owls were intensified and somewhat clarified.

[Karyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insights from An Owl:

Keep only what is useful. Regurgitate the rest.
Be patient. Eventually something will move.
Learn through play.
Only one out of four or five tries yields a mouse. Never give up.
Accept help when it is offered.
Adapt to stay resilient.
Travel every four to six months.
Take time to sit and observe.
Death is a necessary ingredient in life. Accept the transformation.
Never foul your own nest.
Parenthood is temporary.
The Great Gray Owl does not see what the Great Horned Owl sees. Perspective is everything.
Withhold judgment. Nature does not take sides.
Where you live is not nearly as important as where you are alive.

As with many people, I'm fascinated by owls. But it's been a casual fascination; I've never taken the time to really learn about these birds of prey. Fortunately I saw Caldez's book on a display at my local library, so I picked it up and learned quite a bit.

Some tidbits I learned from this book: that the "satellite dish" arrangement of their facial feathers funnel sound toward their ears, which are positioned asymmetrically so as to make it easier for the owl to pinpoint its prey's location, that mothers have a bald spot on their bellies called a brood patch where the owlets snuggle to keep warm before they're able to regulate their own temperatures, that most owls (though not all) begin incubating their eggs as soon as they're laid which results in a clutch of chicks of differing ages, that there is even a diurnal owl called the Northern Pygmy Owl that defies much of what is attributed to owls in general.

I enjoyed the organization of this book, with each chapter given over to a particular type of owl, with the beginning of the chapter including scientific information on that species of owl, and the rest of the chapter describing Caldez's personal experiences with that type of owl. At times Caldez gets a bit heavy-handed about saving these birds and their habitats, but it's hard not to do when you become so close to an animal and you are able to witness it in its own environment.

The illustrations by Tony Angell are absolutely beautiful and add quite a lot to this book.

Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in owls.

[Youp · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know that one person who always manages to talk about them self? Who hijacks any conversation to eagerly share stories about their weekend? Who asks how your vacation went, and within twenty seconds you're hearing about every vacation they ever went on? Imagine if that person wrote a book about owls, and you have 'The Hidden Lives of Owls'.

Many books by naturalists have an introduction to set the atmosphere, and provide a background story about the topic. It's usually an anecdote of their first encounter with a certain species, or an important event from their youth. Somehow, that anecdote never stops in this book. 'The Hidden Lives of Owls' is not so much about owls as it is about the author, and how she is affected by owls. I certainly don't mind someone being enthusiastic about nature - Bernd Heinrich for example is always contagiously excited in his books - but their emotions and life story shouldn't be the gist of the book. I'm sure being a single mom is hard, but a book about owls is not the place to write about it. To make it worse, the author is overly spiritual and unscientific, describing owls (which just moved into her neighborhood) as her friends, understanding the deeper message of the owl ('Trust life', whatever that means) or being borderline confused about evolutionary biology.

This book can safely be avoided. If you're looking for interesting bird stories, pick up Bernd Heinrich's One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives. If you want a more personal and ecological book about an animal species, read Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. 'The Hidden Lives of Owls' is a book about the author, with semi-random facts about owls sprinkled on top of it.

[Isa (Pages Full of Stars) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it! In the past few years various owl figurines took over my bookshelves, so I was glad to be able to learn something about those interesting birds.

I think that the format of the book worked very well for me. The fact that the author weaved her experiences with owls around the straight scientific facts, made it much more accessible and enjoyable. I'm also glad that at the very end, there's multiple references to the websites where we can learn more and even watch owls under 24/7 cam.

I did wish that the author covered more species that can be found outside of North America, but I understand why she narrowed it down to those she was able to witness herself, and I definitely recommend this book if you'd like to read more about owls.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka jest podzielona na podrozdziały o poszczególnych gatunkach sów występujących w Ameryce Północnej, skąd pochodzi autorka.
Wolałabym chyba mieć tę książkę podzieloną w inny sposób - np. wg kryterium wyglądu i cech charakterystycznych dla różnych gatunków, sposobu lęgu, różnic w zakładaniu gniazd itd.
Autorka nie jest profesjonalnym ornitologiem, więc opowiada językiem nie specjalistycznym. Jednocześnie wprowadza kilka pojęć, które przydają się przy rozmawianiu o ptakach, a sowach w szczególności (jak np. szlara, lotki).
W niektórych miejscach mam poczucie niekonsekwencji - raz książka bardzo powierzchownie traktuje pewne tematy, a raz jest niebywale drobiazgowa (jak np. przy dokonywaniu pomiarów opisuje szczegółowo od którego pióra do której kostki dokonuje się pomiaru, albo podaje łacińskie nazwy roślinności).
Ponadto, według mnie niepotrzebne były tu osobiste wtręty typu, rozmowa z sowami, opis emocji w trakcie czekania na obserwację, łzy wzruszenia itd.
Poza tymi powyższymi wadami, książka mi się bardzo podobała. Jeśli chcecie wiedzieć co to jest szlara, jak sowy są przystosowane do życia w ciemności, co sprawia, że mają doskonały słuch i jak to się dzieje, że potrafią latać bezszelestnie - to polecam tę książkę.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great balance between being informative of different types of PNW owls and full of engaging encounters with birds of prey. It's pretty touching.

[Camelia Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hidden Lives of Owls is Leigh Calvez’s “owling” experiences as a science journalist. I love owls and birds in general. The hidden lives of owls turn out to be not so hidden. We are just too ignorant to know. There is some science in the book, but not as much as I’d expected. As for spirit, I’d rather not impose our human values onto them.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a good introduction into North American Owls, give this one a try. You will learn plenty and she doesn't get to dry or detailed.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Hidden Lives of Owls (this goodreads entry gets the name of the book and the author wrong) is beautifully illustrated and produced. The content, however, too rarely rises above Calvez's heavy-handed narratives of (self)discovery. Readers will certainly learn some things about owls and owl research, though a number of facts are needlessly repeated. The main problem is the author's overly sentimental view of owls and her inclusion of pointless dialogue. She insists on using "owl" as an adjective for anything to do with owls (i.e. talking about their their "owl life" rather than their life), she wishes them "good luck" at the end of most chapters, and compares her experience as a single mother to a female owl whose mate has just been killed by a hawk - an owl who she claims exhibits "trust that only a wild thing would know" (?).

And did we really need this exchange?:

"Thank you for pointing her [a long-eared owl] out," the woman said to me. "I'm going to make a glass piece of you," she said, looking toward the owl again. "I blow glass."

"That sounds amazing," I said. We talked a few minutes more about her work before she told me she often comes to Eide Road to walk and to find inspiration for her art...

Calvez is enthusiastic and knows enough about owls to write this sort of book, but lacks a sense of Herzogian "truth" beyond fact.

ASIDE: In the acknowledgements, Calvez thanks the ex-wife of a researcher who is featured in the book and then later thanks that researcher with "all my love." When she meets said researcher in the narrative, however, he is still married. It seems there was some human drama amidst the "owl drama."

[David Doty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love nature writing, and so I was happy to find this little gem at a Bainbridge Island bookstore a few months ago. Leigh Calvez, a Washington resident, spent over a year consulting with wildlife biologists, ornithologists, environmental scientists, conservationists, and citizen bird watchers to learn about all of the primary species of North American owls, from the smallest (Flammulated Owls and Pygmy Owls) to the largest (Great Gray Owls and Great Horned Owls).

Her descriptions of these amazing creatures, from watching them nest to seeing them hunt, are beautiful and moving. Getting to know these elusive raptors takes real effort, as most of them are nocturnal and not easily spotted in thick, old-growth forests or, as in the case of Snowy Owls, camouflaged on the Arctic tundra. Yet the author's persistence and passion make for a compelling story, and provide inspiration to anyone who seeks to understand the connection between owls and multiple facets of our ecosystem.

Calvez also makes you think that capturing, tagging, and studying these birds might be a fascinating career. At the very least, you'll want to take a walk in the woods to hear and see some owls for yourself.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I live in Nebraska, and one night we were in bed with the window cracked for the crisp Fall air. I heard an owl call “whoo, whoo.” My husband told me that he was sitting on the deck one night and was startled when a large owl flew within a few feet of our deck. The owl’s flight was silent.

These experiences peaked my interest in our neighborhood owl. So, I bought this book. Leigh Calves shares her adventures of meeting with experts and birders who love owls, and her encounters with various types of owls from the smallest to the largest.

Great reading and great resources to various birding web sites.

[Shan Hulud · Rating 2 out of 5]

I adore birds and books about birds, so I was disheartened to find this one of the worst books I've read in years.

Only read this if you're interested in the amateur, poorly written musings of someone without expertise in owls following around people with a better understanding of owls. The birds are anthropomorphized, the writing is dull, and the bird facts are lacking, with the same information constantly reiterated throughout the book. You really only need to mention that owls use asynchronous hatching once in order for the reader to get the message.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly personal introduction to owls by a naturalist who travels to places in North America where she comes face to face with these amazing birds. Touches on both positive and negative roles human beings are playing in owl species survival.

I found out more informative than captivating but still head and shoulders above a dry textbook-style read.

[S.M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I pine for the days when books like this were written by people who were actual professionals on the subject. Apparently now all you need to get a best-selling science/nature book published is to be a half-enthusiastic amateur who's happy to yammer on and on about mundane philosophical thoughts that most of us had when we were 12, or prater randomly about your uninteresting life and family.

[JZ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. I'm thinking that this got published for the illustrations, because it wasn't for the text.

I've loved owls all my life. I don't know what I expected from this, but certainly more.

[Susan Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. I thought this was a good intro into learning about owls ... through 11 different owl species the author goes out to find & watch mostly in the Pacific Northwest ... but also in Montana & Alaska. I am an owl novice so I learned quite a bit about owls in general as well as with particular differences among these species. It's a smallish 197 page book but delivers some good info ... on where owls live & nest, where they migrate to, what they eat, how they raise their young, how males & female duties differ, what terrain they like, when they're active (mostly at night) & what survival challenges they face. I have a new appreciation for owls after reading this & hope to go on some hikes to see some. The book also introduces various Owl experts & conservation organizations in the field who are working to band the birds to research them ... & see where they go ... and measure & weigh them. All in an effort to study & try to help them. It was interesting to see the techniques used for trapping the birds to band them which included: nets & playing recorded Owl calls; or trapping them in their burrows with recorded calls, or feeding them mice. They seem to know quite a bit about their behavior. My only caveat about the book ... is that some photographs of the birds would've been helpful to include and also there isn't exactly a strong narrative in the book -- mainly it's about her quest to learn about owls but it's not that notable in the writing -- it's more an informational type of book but it is filled with a bit of wonder & appreciation which was nice. So if you're looking for photos or a narrative nonfiction (type of story) then probably go elsewhere.

[Naters Diienno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wished there was more empirical references, sources to back up claims, and more research. While I enjoyed learning new facts about our different endemic owls much of it was lost to the authors inserted narrative of human-owl interactions and the ever present anthropomorphism.

The artwork of each species was incredible and something I looked forward to with each chapter. Additionally, there were insights portrayed that you simply can’t glean from Wikipedia or eBird. That being said it was difficult to remain engaged with the level of vocabulary and writing proficiency. Like previous 3-star science non-fiction books I’ve read I can really only recommend this kind of book to those wanting a cursory overview of a subject or those who are new to wildlife reading altogether.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A personal journey by the author to meet the owls resident in the Pacific Northwest region. Tony Angelo provides beautiful pencil portraits of the birds, but I had my “Sibley Guide to Birds” out as well to get a little more detail and color. I enjoyed the blend of science and personal odyssey presented here. The writing is not as transcendent as “H is for Hawk”, but is good enough for four stars.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good and well written resource if you're interested in owls. The author followed a group of wildlife biologists as they studied, counted and banded the owls in the pacific northwest. Calvez says that you sense a sense of wisdom and trust as you look into each other, human and owl. In the end the owl's message is one of transformation.

[KotKulturowa · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Czy zdając sobie z tego sprawę, byłam gotowa wybrać pomiędzy jednym a drugim gatunkiem, aby dokonać "wyboru Zofii" pomiędzy gatunkami?"

For fuck's sake WYBORU ZOFII?!?!

Pisz o sowach, a nie o swoich kruchych emocjach dotyczących ptaków. Taaa pewnie też bym dostała amoku, jakby mi dali potrzymać sowę, bo są taaaakie piękne, ale no do cholery, to miała być książka o ptakach. A była o rozemocjonowanej i patetycznej kobiecie, która widząc ptaszory nad sterta śmieci czuła z nimi powinowactwo dusz. W rzyci mam twoją duszę, chce czytać o kluciu asynchronicznym i szlarach.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book -- and the topic -- is completely charming, and it was a lovely respite from some of the heavier nonfiction reading I've done as of late. Calvez adds enough science, policy, and conservation information to help the reader learn more about owls, but the bulk of the book details her own adventures to find owls in their natural habitats. She helps tag and measure owls, helps feed owlets, and hikes in the rain and in the night to find them in their natural habitats. It is the awe of owls that made this book such a joy to read.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Większość książki to okrutnie egzaltowane wrażenia i refkeksje autorki, spomiędzy których można czasem wyłuskać jakieś informacje. "Siedząc w sowim lesie, zrozumiałam głębsze przesłanie wiadomości od sowy: zaufaj życiu" - to tylko mała próbka. Może komuś o wrażliwości innej niż moja się spodoba.

[Phil VanOsdol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a little disappointed with this one. Owls are the coolest creatures on earth and I was genuinely curious to learn more about them. While there are some interesting nuggets sprinkled around in the book, 80-90% is the author explaining, in great detail, her bird watching expeditions.

Womp womp

[Abdulrahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deeper look into a few owl species, it's very fun learning about each one's behavior and how different they are from each other.

The author was adorable with quotes like this "Good luck, I hope you find a nice owl wife."

[Caty Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done, an experienced naturalist's beautiful and personal stories of these amazing birds in our world, their natural habits and superpowers. Thanks to my friend Bruce for sharing this book.

[Noah Goats]

Didn't finish this one. I can't blame the author too much. I suspect that I'm just not as into owls as I hoped I'd be.