[TN-Bird] Re: Owl aboard!!!
- From: Charlie <cmmbirds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 19:54:52 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Dee,
Actually, I'd bet the owl WAS there for the opossum. Most owls,
certainly including Great Horned, can do a fine job of catching
things they never see. Opossums are not what I'd call particularly
quiet, so the owl must have known it was there. And being the most
massive (though not tallest or largest wing span) owl in North
America, they can and will take big food. They regularly take
Striped Skunks. A rehabber I knew in Pennsylvania had to build a
separate building just for Great Horned Owls because 1/3 to 1/2 half
of the ones that came to her reeked of skunk! So while I'm sure most
of them eat mostly little things, they can take pretty big critters,
too.
Congrats on the great observations!
Charlie
--- Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Hello Birders from the Charlotte Park area of West Nashville a
> little east of
> where the Cleece's Ferry used to run on the Cumberland River.
> At a little bit after 10 PM last night, I opened the French doors
> to my deck
> to let the dogs out, and I felt a slight breeze just as the motion
> light came
> on and saw what was obviously a great horned owl lifting off from
> my deck only
> about 6 feet from the door. Golly, one doesn't realize how BIG
> they are
> until one is practically on top of one! It probably was "mousing,"
> as the mice
> come up on deck day and night to eat the bird seed that I scatter
> out there. I
> strongly doubt that the owl had its sites set on the BIG, FAT
> opossum which
> was crouching among the grape vines on top of the deck rail about
> 15 feet away.
> "Poss" was fairly well hidden with only its head showing in the
> night light
> with its big eyes literally popping out of its head. Fear of the
> owl, perhaps,
> as the eyes REALLY looked larger than usual. Of course, the possum
> caught a
> double whammy when my poodle, Beaujolais, detected its odor but
> failed to see
> it on its perch above. Beau strode around the deck showing
> ownership for
> quite a while as "Poss" played possum by staying still and
> watching. Little Lady
> Magnolia was aware that something was up there, but she decided to
> come back
> inside and let her brother take care of the problem. Finally, he
> gave up after
> sniffing all around the deck and not finding the well hidden
> possum. When he
> got back inside, I went out there and took some photos of the fat
> critter.
> Sure wish I'd had camera in hand on the owl-fly-up.
>
> Cheers & prayers,
>
> Dee Thompson
> Nashville, TN
>
>
>
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=====
**************************************************
Charlie Muise, Naturalist near
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
"Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of cancer." -Edward Abbey
**************************************************
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=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
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