Hi Tom et all,
I live in suburban Powell, Ohio about 1.5 miles from the Columbus Zoo in
southern Delaware, Ohio. I sit on my condo patio (have too I'm on crutches
for a while) and I set my watch to the resident Great Horned Owl pair. This
past Sunday eve. I went outside at 8:30pm and waited for the show to begin.
The male arrived first then she joined him in the same dead tree snag. They
began softly hooting and my guest and I were delighted to listen to the soft
hoots volleying back and forth. Suddenly a third raptor joined them and a
resident Cooper's Hawk (probably an immature) perched between the Tiger of
the Night pair. We both looked in disbelief that this daytime avian
predator would be so insane to sit between these two hungry night time
predators as darkness approached. All of a sudden the male great horned
turned off his snag and began chasing the cooper's around the woodlot. Soon
the male great horned returned to another perch and the cooper's was long
gone. The owls arrival and departure took place in about 20 to 22 minutes.
Many friends who have stopped by over the last couple weeks have been
delighted to see one or both of the owls.
I've watched this pair of owls for 4 or 5 years. This year the young never
appeared. I assumed that the severe winter week or so we had in February
may have claimed their young. I miss the begging calls from past years that
carried into September. And there are calling screech owls that sometimes
join the nighttime chorus around the condo complex.
Recently the resident fledgling and hungry red-tail has been begging into
the warm August afternoons. I might be stuck at home recovering from a
serious foot surgery 3 weeks ago but the excitement outside my condo helps
the days to pass as I find many things to discover while being forced to sit
instead of running around the state looking for birds and projects to get
involved with.
And yes Tom, our neighborhood is full of rabbits and squirrels (and
bluebirds). ~:> )
Darlene Sillick
Powell, Ohio
Delaware County
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Tom
Bain
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 8:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Great Horned Owl
Great report, Cheryl and Les:
We have watched the Cooper's Hawk, a species formerly very uncommon in the
suburbs increasingly adapt to suburban dooryards, woodlots, and parks--now a
common sight in my yard and a regular predator at my 'feeding station'.
I wonder if our large rural owl will make the transition with the same
success (my dooryard is full of rabbits)?
Any more reports out there?
Tom Bain
The Glaciated Allegheny Plateau
Ross County
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cheryl
and Les
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 6:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Great Horned Owl
Hi All,
We were heading up to Delaware State Park Sunday around 11:45 pm to check
out the Perseid Meteor Shower. When leaving our house (located in Lantern
Chase Development, west side of Delaware behind Kroger Plaza), we were
shocked to see something fly between the houses. We went across the street
to see a Great Horned Owl perched on the apex of a house. We followed the
owl around the neighborhood with our binoculars as he would perch on other
houses. I half expected a police car to pull up as we were standing in
front of various houses looking in our binoculars above bedroom windows! It
was quite the site. I constantly hike the woods looking to spot my first
owl, and all I had to do was to walk out my front door! He was awesome!
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
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