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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