I was standing outside at 8pm, nearly dark, listening for woodcock when the
most gosh-awful squaking came flying up our lane!  A bird the size of a
Great Blue Heron or Sandhill Crane came flying low toward the house - maybe
30 feet above the driveway – with its neck outstretched and head a little
lower than the body.  Behind it came a large bird the size and shape of a
Great Horned Owl!  The larger bird banked around the house along the woods
then kept climbing and turning to get away.  The pursuer landed in a tree at
the edge of the woods.  I think it saw me standing in front of the house and
gave up the chase.  I slipped back into the house for my binoculars but by
the time I returned it was gone.  I could not positively tell what either
bird was but this was the largest avian predator/prey display I have ever
seen!

 

Does anyone know if Great Horned Owls are known to take birds as large as a
GBH?  My neighbor and I have seen the Great Horned in the area and there is
a wetland about ½ mile away in the direction the birds came from.

 

Matt Valencic

Chagrin Falls, OH


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