[obol] Re: A one-eyed Barred Owl and a conundrum of feathered remains
- From: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- To: "jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx" <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2013 16:44:56 -0800
Jack et al.,
I'm sure Dick is on the mark. Great Horned Owls are notorious for cleaning
other birds of prey out of their turf. Years ago (late 70's) a pair of
Long-eared Owls occupied the oasis at Fields. They were displaced by a pair of
Great Horneds and there have been Great Horneds nesting there ever since. In
2007 Diane Pettey and I found the scattered remnants (a wing and tail feathers)
of a Red-shouldered Hawk. We suspected that it had fallen prey to the local
Great Horneds.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 1, 2013, at 3:09 PM, "Jack Williamson" <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Thanks Dick - from what I could tell most of the action occurred about 12
> feet off the ground. With that, I ruled out coyote etc because the branch
> did not look accessible to most four legged critters. I did not note the
> absence of chewed feathers. Great tip, I will definitely look for that in
> the future. Best to you, hope you had a great Thanksgiving - Jack
>
>
> On Sun, Dec 1, 2013 at 2:57 PM, Richard W. Musser <mussermcevoy@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> Hi Jack,
> I took a careful look at the wing bones and associated feathers in your
> photos----and I'd concur with your guess they came from a red-tailed hawk.
> Additionally, these feathers would have come from an immature bird. From the
> way the smaller feathers were strewn (different photo), it appears they fell
> from above. Also, it doesn't seem to me that any of the feathers were
> "chewed" as when a mammalian predator is involved. My guess is the predator
> of the redtail, was a great horned owl----that caught the hawk at night. The
> habitat photo of big trees,---a great place for rts (and GHOs) to hunt, is
> NOT a good place for any RTs to be roosting at night (and adult rts never
> roost in the open). Just my two cents. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi.
> south of Burns)
>
>
>
>
> On Sunday, December 1, 2013 10:27 AM, Jack Williamson
> <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I tossed-and-turned early Saturday morning thinking about places I might find
> an unusual species or two. Intuition took me south from West Linn a few miles
> to one of my favorite spring-time stops, the St. Louis Ponds. But after
> seeing everyone in the area of the ponds wearing orange hunting vests and
> carrying firearms I decided to see if I could locate the Pygmy Owl Jill and I
> heard in a wooded section of Champoeg State Park a couple of weeks before.
>
> The trail, a little over a mile long, relatively flat but well drained,
> produced good looks a bunches of forest species including GOLDEN CROWNED
> KINGLET, RUBY CROWNED KINGLET, BEWICK'S WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, BROWN CREEPER,
> PACIFIC WREN, and a one-eyed BARRED OWL.
>
> Before leaving the park I decided to take a quick look through the Oak Grove,
> it has been a great spot for Acorn Woodpeckers, and Great Horned Owls. I
> struck out both of those, but did get to see a large mixed flock of CEDAR
> WAXWING and WESTERN BLUEBIRD competing, I think, for insects in one of the
> many drainage ditches that run through the area. As I was heading back to
> the car, I came across a trail of feathers that lead from the northern edge
> of the Oak Grove to a low branch on an oak tree in the middle of the grove.
> While looking closely at the first batch of small feathers, I thought
> American Kestrel, but when I came across an area the bird had been consumed I
> realized something much much larger had met its end.
>
> http://www.jack-n-jill.net/blog/2013/12/a-one-eyed-barred-owl-and-a-conundrum-of-feathered-remains
>
> --
> Jack Williamson
> West Linn, Oregon
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Jack Williamson
> West Linn, Oregon
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