We had a lovely visitor on our back fence this morning - a Barred Owl!
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My wife says this is actually normal squirrel behaviour and that they are mobbing the owl and trying to intimidate it. As it is an ambush predator, the squirrels know they are unlikely to be attacked in this scenario. How weird is THAT?
@VA3DSO my local squirrels dropped a big bird from the tree. I saw the bird very briefly from the back, so not sure what it was, but suspected a hawk.
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@VA3DSO Don't owls eat squirrels? What happened next? Pictures please.
@RejoinEU Weirdly nothing happened next. The squirrels went back to foraging in the backyard and the owl just chilled on the fence. At some point in the afternoon, the owl flew away.
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@VA3DSO my local squirrels dropped a big bird from the tree. I saw the bird very briefly from the back, so not sure what it was, but suspected a hawk.
@lepaggoth Oh wow! That is crazy! I've seen one red-tailed hawk near by backyard. It took a run at a rock pigeon that was trying to eat from my bird feeders, but the pigeon managed to elude it.
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@VA3DSO
Did they cause any harm the first time they saw them? -
@VA3DSO I feel like some of their kin may have seen an owl before - very briefly.
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My wife says this is actually normal squirrel behaviour and that they are mobbing the owl and trying to intimidate it. As it is an ambush predator, the squirrels know they are unlikely to be attacked in this scenario. How weird is THAT?
@VA3DSO two years ago I heard wild alarm calls from Wood thrushes in the woods, and I went in and sure enough they were trying to intimidate a barred owl. Which was kind of stationary and unmoved for a bit.
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@VA3DSO
Did they cause any harm the first time they saw them?@nuwagaba2 No, nobody got hurt. I was amazed that the owl just sat there. It wasn't aggressive at all - it just wanted to nap. Once the squirrels figured out they couldn't scare him off, they just went back to their squirrelly business.
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We had a lovely visitor on our back fence this morning - a Barred Owl!
#Birding #Birds #Owl #BarredOwl #Nature #Photography #Wildlife #Backyard
@VA3DSO snug
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We had a lovely visitor on our back fence this morning - a Barred Owl!
#Birding #Birds #Owl #BarredOwl #Nature #Photography #Wildlife #Backyard
@VA3DSO Was large was it? If it was small it looks to me like a Northern Saw-whet Owl.
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@nuwagaba2 No, nobody got hurt. I was amazed that the owl just sat there. It wasn't aggressive at all - it just wanted to nap. Once the squirrels figured out they couldn't scare him off, they just went back to their squirrelly business.
@VA3DSO
Nature is really amazing. Thanks for capturing and sharing such a wonderful moment with us. Did you keep your owl as a pet? -
@VA3DSO Was large was it? If it was small it looks to me like a Northern Saw-whet Owl.
️@mediocratese it seemed fairly big to me. I was wondering the same thing though. The key is my owl has dark brown eyes and a Saw-whet has bright yellow eyes. So I’m pretty sure it’s a barred owl.
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@VA3DSO
Nature is really amazing. Thanks for capturing and sharing such a wonderful moment with us. Did you keep your owl as a pet?@nuwagaba2 no but it is welcome to visit anytime it wants!
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We had a lovely visitor on our back fence this morning - a Barred Owl!
#Birding #Birds #Owl #BarredOwl #Nature #Photography #Wildlife #Backyard
@VA3DSO Awesome!
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@nuwagaba2 no but it is welcome to visit anytime it wants!
@VA3DSO
Owls rarely visit a place twice unless they have found something good and peaceful. Let's hope it visits again. Can I share with you about my project? -
@VA3DSO Weird squirrel!
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And finally, a slightly closer shot of the owl. I haven't seen it since.
@VA3DSO that's a gorgeous owl
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@nuwagaba2 No, nobody got hurt. I was amazed that the owl just sat there. It wasn't aggressive at all - it just wanted to nap. Once the squirrels figured out they couldn't scare him off, they just went back to their squirrelly business.
@VA3DSO @nuwagaba2 Back to chewing the cabling on the wall opposite?
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@VA3DSO @nuwagaba2 Back to chewing the cabling on the wall opposite?
@penguin42
What's your favourite chocolate flavour? -
@VA3DSO
Owls rarely visit a place twice unless they have found something good and peaceful. Let's hope it visits again. Can I share with you about my project?@nuwagaba2 Sure, send me a DM. I had a look at your profile and it looks like you and your team are doing some awesome work!
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@VA3DSO @nuwagaba2 Back to chewing the cabling on the wall opposite?
@penguin42 @nuwagaba2 I've never had squirrels or other critter gnaw on any of the cables outside my house (yet!). However, in that picture, that's actually my neighbour's house (the owl was on our back fence). Hopefully the cables remain intact!
