TWO HAWKS, A FOX AND THE GREAT HORNED OWL

Two Hawks, a Fox and the Great Horned Owl…  This interesting wildlife report is a collaboration between us and our next door neighbors. We took what was seen by each household and put together the story of this vivid example of what our neighbor called,  "The 'Food Chain' law that rules the planet". 

About 9AM, here at our house, we were watching a Great Horned Owl who was about halfway down the hill toward the pond, maybe 50 feet away!  The owl was on the ground and seemed to be trying to grab some prey. 

Now, let’s go to the story next door. From their porch at about the same time, they noticed two hawks in some kind of altercation on their hill heading down toward the pond. Meanwhile there was a fox in their front yard, getting a drink of water. The fox heard the altercation, and as canines are wont to do, ran toward it! The fox tried to get the squirrel that the hawks were fighting over, but the hawks pecked at the fox and it ran off to look for an easier breakfast. 

Meanwhile, back at our house, we saw the owl suddenly fly off next door! We texted over there to let the neighbors know that there was a Great Horned Owl somewhere in their yard, on the hill heading down to the pond - we didn't see where it landed. 

"Ah, there it is!!" It was sitting on a log between our two houses, eating a squirrel! I guess the hawks decided that the owl was too big to mess with and left their prize. Tough getting a meal around here! 

OK - I hear you saying, "But owls are night-time critters!!  This was day time!"  Not all owls are nocturnal; the barred owl, for example (another owl we have around here) is also diurnal (up in the daytime) as well as nocturnal.  I think the Great Horned we saw (they are nocturnal) was probably feeding chicks and therefore hunting in the morning for herself.

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ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT LIVING HERE is that we never know what Mother Nature is going to show us! It isn't always pleasant, but it is always interesting! 

Other wonderful things about our little area is that it is DARK at night -- no street lights, so the wild animals do wander through the yard at night, and during the day. 

A fox passes through our yard almost every morning to see if s/he can get some breakfast. And that will stay true because the area around the pond, the brooks and the wetlands is all protected. What that means is that home owners can't even cut a tree or clean up brush within 100 feet of the water. Within 200 feet, you have to get permission from the Sudbury Conservation Committee to do changes.  The law truly protects the waterways and the wildlife habitat in Sudbury.

Here is a link to "Protecting Sudbury's Wetlands" 
https://sudbury.ma.us/conservation/2019/03/26/about-protecting-sudburys-wetlands/

Wild forever, I hope!!

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OH!  Back to the owl.  I never managed to get a good picture of her (I think it was female as it was quite large and in the GHOWs, as with many raptors, the female is larger than the male).  I was shooting pictures through the window and she was always behind branches.  I didn't want to go out of the house as my presence could scare her away from her meal.  Here are a couple of very fuzzy pictures, but you can kind of see the face.

The photo below is one that I took of a great horned owl several years ago (2015). This owl was also up in the morning and roosting (resting) in a tree down near the pond for well over an hour.  If you look very carefully at the talons on the owl's left foot, you will see a bit of fur left over from the meal!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT HERE!  And we LOVE it wild.

MORNING VISITOR

We had a really exciting visitor this morning! 

Great Horned Owl - June 20, 2015

We hear the Great Horned Owls frequently when walking the dog in the early morning or at night, but rarely see one.  This morning, we were looking out the window, trying to hear some other strange sound at about 5:30AM, and noted the jays and other little birds seemingly mobbing something (also a common activity around here with all of our hawks and owls!).  I saw a movement - something flying toward a tree, but had no clue even how big the bird was, let alone what it might be.  I grabbed my binocs and went into the other room where there were fewer branches in front of where I thought I saw a bird.  It took some hunting, but I finally found an odd lump up next to the trunk of the tree.  Cool!  This lump has ear tufts!!!

Great Horned owl hiding from mobsters

Our visitor hung around for about a half hour, so I managed to set up my camera and the scope and we got some really good views of it.  I had hoped to get some pix of the little birds mobbing the GHOW*, but never managed to click at the right moment, and the owl was doing a good job of not being noticed much.

It did come out onto the branch more, so the rest of the pictures are frontal.


















It was mostly still, but occasionally looked from side to side.















Owls can turn their heads all the way around to look behind them, but I'd never actually seen that.  These next two pictures are interesting because in the first one, you see the blurred movement of the head, and the second one shows the head turned backwards.  

Great Horned Owl turning its head all the way around

Looking at all 40 some pictures that I took, there was almost no change in the bird's body or its feet and the way it was clamped onto the branch.  Only the head moved.

We have no idea why the owl was out and about after dawn.  Could have been caught away from its usual daytime roost and was waiting for the mobbers to go away; could have been seeking food for its nestlings - owls will hunt in the daytime when they have nestlings; or it could have been chased away from its usual roost.  Ooo!  Or maybe its usual roost is right around here and we just haven't seen it before!  Suzanne has seen a GHOW* here a few times this year.  In any case, we sure enjoyed the visit!

Great Horned Owl - June 20, 2015

*There are four-letter "Alpha Codes" for all birds, a bit of shorthand.  The Great Horned Owl is "GHOW"

SPECIAL BIRDS

Ah, some of my favorite birds have shown up this week, so spring is truly here!
One of my favorites is the Northern Oriole.  I am always amazed at how much the male's color matches the color of an orange.

In case you don't know, one of the easiest ways to get an oriole into your yard is to offer oranges!!  They love them and will come several times a day to drink the juice.  They also like grape jelly...  This guy showed up for the first time Sunday evening. (May 3)

I was sitting on the porch on that Sunday evening when I saw the oriole.  Shortly, the hummingbird arrived.  He didn't stay because the feeder is right near the chairs!  (There is a second feeder on the other side of the porch for when we are sitting out.)  I actually didn't see him at that moment, but the hum of the hummer's wings is unmistakable!  We have seen him many times since.  
The picture below was taken in 2006 and is a female or immature; I didn't get a picture of the male who has been visiting the feeder this year.

If you are feeding hummers, do NOT add red food coloring to the food; the chemicals are not good for the bird (or for people!).  Get a feeder like this one that has red on it, or put up a hanging red plant or even a ribbon and the birds will find the food.  (4 parts water, 1 part white sugar and change it every 3 days - more frequently if it is hot.)

Last Thursday, 5:15AM, the windows were open and we were awakened by the cacophony  of the birds!  I was dozing between alarm snoozes and hearing, but not listening to, the birds: titmice, mourning doves, chickadees...  WAIT!  That sounds different!  Now I'm wide awake!  But there is too much other bird noise to hear.  Gotta get my ear out of the pillow.  Under the sound of the doves... what is that?  Owl??  No, not likely.  Mourning doves are the most commonly mistaken call for owls.  I wish the titmice would be quieter so I could hear, cuz there IS a different sound in there.  I moved to the window.

YES!!!  There is a Great-horned Owl calling!  No, make that TWO GHOs!!!  VERY COOL.  Worth waking up for.  "Linda!  Wake up!  Great-horned owls!"  We listened at the window.  Yup.  Clear.  Probably a male and a female because there are two different pitches (the female is usually higher pitched than the male).  Whoa!  Listen to the crows!  Did they find the owls?  "No showers and exercises this morning, let's get out on the porch!!"  

We wonder if one of them was the same one that we SAW last weekend (May 1).  Suzanne called us mid-morning to say that there was a GH Owl sitting in the trees between our houses.  It then flew across the pond, but came back.  Made the circuit three times.  Linda got a good view of it; I saw the bird, but could not have ID'd it if I'd been alone.  It flew from the pine tree to the top of a broken off tree and sat there.  Wonder if it was looking for food for its chicks?  We have lots of gophers and squirrels!

Nice way to wake up!

BRILLIANT SUNRISE

Brilliant doesn't really describe the sunrise this morning and pictures never do it justice...
Morning such a beautiful time; I feel blessed that I have to get out in the morning to walk the dog.  This morning, at about 6:15, I took him out for a second walk as Linda was leaving, and the sky was just beginning to be red.  When we turned around to come back in, my breath was taken away by the brilliant sky!

All of the birds are beginning to claim their territory and it's quite cacophonous first thing in the morning.  As we stepped out of the house today, we were greeted by the calling of our resident Carolina Wren, sitting in a tree right close to the door. Linda & I call the Carolina Wren the "teakettle" bird because it says, "Teakettle, teakettle, teakettle, tea."  They are amazingly loud for such a small bird -- sure gets your attention!   Our Teakettle bird always leads the way in the morning.  If I remember correctly from last year, later the robins will sing first.

Saturday morning Blake & I were greeted by the calling of a Great Horned Owl.  Nice...  I do like to listen to the owls.  We are still hearing and seeing our little Eastern Screech Owl.  We are hoping that there are two of them and one is tending a nest in that hole!