Silent Death
At my desk, I have an excellent view out a window across the wooded lawn toward our small, backyard orchard — maybe 100 yards away. Yesterday evening, about sunset, a large, dark apparition flew directly toward this window and startled me. A few feet from the window and beside a bird feeder, it applied it’s air brakes, dropped a wing and dove to the ground under the window. I rushed to the window and peered down to see the action. Now I could see very clearly that this “apparition” was a Barred Owl. It flew up onto a dead tree branch maybe 70 yards away, but in full view. As it flew, I could see it clutching some small creature in its right talon, and I could see the prey struggling but could not identify it. The owl raised it’s right foot to its beak, apparently bit the prey, and the struggling slowed. I continued to watch for maybe 15 minutes, expecting to see the owl eat its prey. But, it didn’t. Finally, it flew away.
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Barred Owl |
We have a pair of these Barred Owls that have been hanging around the yard for the last week or so and are reasonably tame. Normally, when I see one of these owls while walking in the woods, they spook very easily. So, this tame behavior in our yard is unusual.
These owls are known to prey on mice, snakes, rabbits, squirrels, anoles, insects, kittens, puppies and such, but I was unaware or had forgotten that they also feed on birds. The owls normally perch on a lower tree branch where they watch and listen for possible prey. With their large eyes, they can find their prey in the dark. With ears placed higher on one side of the head than the other, they are able to triangulate the location of their prey with precision. Once the prey is located, the owls fly on wings that make virtually no sound so that the prey receive little warning. Death comes on silent wings!
Although I don’t know what animal the owl caught under my window, it might have been a Tufted Titmouse or a Carolina Chickadee that had been feeding at my bird feeder. The presence of these owls might help explain why since mid-winter till today, I have not needed to refill my feeder with sunflower seeds very often. Maybe the owls were keeping the birds away. But, an argument against this hypothesis is that the owls do not normally hunt in the daytime when seed-feeding birds are at the bird feeders. Oh well!
Anyway, that owl apparition that was flying directly at me out of the evening woods was the most exciting event of the day and provided a modicum of adventure to an old man at his desk. More excitement than that might be injurious to my health.
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