VA Birders,
This morning, March 17, a Barred Owl hooting near the house woke me up
around 2:45 AM. I got up, and with the help of some moonlight and night
vision binoculars I found the fellow perched atop the 25 foot woodpecker
pole I had erected at the edge of the yard near the woods. The three Gray
Foxes that come to the yard were making their nightly rounds, and I watched
the owl bending his head to peer down at them as they walked under him/her.
Occasionally one of the foxes would look up at the owl as it shattered the
silence with a series of hoots or seemingly maniacal laughter.
A few minutes later I looked out again and the owl had moved closer to the
house, and was sitting on top of one of the bluebird nest boxes only about 6
ft. above the ground. While I was trying to figure a way to get a photo
without scaring him away, one of the foxes walked close enough to the house
to activate the motion sensor light on that side of the house. The light
must have been too much for the owl because shortly afterwards it flew out
of the yard on silent wings.
I think the pair of owls is nesting in the hollow just below the house. Im
going to try to locate the nest tree, without undue disturbance to the owls
of course. It shouldnt be hard to locate, if there is enough whitewash
about.
Roger Mayhorn
Grundy, VA
Buchanan County
mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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