On Wednesday afternoon I heard a ruckus in the woods behind my house. My neighborhood Crows and Jays were going crazy – which usually means a predator is around. Most of the time, this predator is a Red-tailed Hawk just passing through, but lately they have been acting up from the visiting bears. I kept alert in case I had to bring in my bird feeders – I only have a few hanging from under my deck since their last visit.
Things were starting to get loud so I went to check it out… with my camera in hand, of course. As soon as I walked into the woods I could see what they were mobbing – a Great Horned Owl!! I’ve only ever heard an Owl in my woods (Eastern Screech-Owl for one night only) – this is the first time I actually saw one here. The birds flew into another tree so I climbed the incline and went after them. The Owl was in plain sight.
Great Horned Owl in my woods
The bird hopped around from tree-to-tree until finally settling up high in the treetops out of sight. For the next few hours, Crows, Jays and other small birds would yell and scream at the Owl on and off. I did relocate the bird later in the evening still in the same area that I had left it earlier.
Keeping an eye on the surrounding Crows and Jays
Getting fed up and wanting to rest
Eventually, things quieted down. I do hope that the Owl was able to get a meal before he left… or maybe he is still back there, hiding from the smaller birds. It would be great to gain a new resident!