FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Re: Another Owl Encounter

[WEalding <wealding@xxxxxxx>]

Lewis

Thankfully you were driving slowly - I remember Ed Clark at the Wildlife Center 
saying that their top two raptor casualties were Red-tailed Hawks that get 
shot, and Barred Owls that get hit by cars.  One of the hazards of playing on 
or near traffic


Wendy Ealding
Powhatan County


In a message dated 02/27/08 19:55:58 Eastern Standard Time, 
lbarnett@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Last night at about 10 o'clock, one of my neighbors, who is aware of my 
affection for feathered critters, called me up all excited. She and her 
husband had just driven past my yard on their way home, and wanted to 
tell me that "the owl" was perched on a low branch in one of my pine 
trees, and had given them quite a good show as they crept by. 

Well, I couldn't resist that kind of opportunity, even if I was already 
in bed. I first had a try at walking down the road to try and spot the 
bird, but it was a pretty dark night, and i didn't have any luck that 
way. So, I copied the neighbor's playbook, grabbed the car keys, and 
took a cruise past the trees where the owl had been last reported. No 
luck, but when I turned around and headed back, there it was in the 
middle of the road, toying with some unfortunate future late-night 
snack. (It was a fine-looking Barred Owl.) Headlights didn't bother it, 
so I got some of the best views I've ever had. After it made another 
cycle to the trees and back to the road (it looked like it got an 
earthworm, or some other long, wiggly animal on that trip), I passed on 
by and left it to hunt in peace. 

It was a perfect end to a day that had already had some nice raptor 
moments. As I climbed in my car to drive to work in the morning, a 
Red-Shouldered Hawk cruised right overhead, making a fuss about its 
territory. Then just afterwards, I was treated to an adult Bald Eagle 
cruising the river as I passed over the Huguenot Bridge. 

-- 
Lewis Barnett -- Chair, Dept. of Math & CS, U. of Richmond, VA 23173 
              -- lbarnett@xxxxxxxxxxxx | lbarnett@xxxxxxx 
              -- http://www.mathcs.richmond.edu/~lbarnett/ 
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