Yes, interesting thread. I was just thinking to myself today as I was looking at rabbit sign around my garden, that it was time for one of our local Barred Owls to get to work on these pesky rabbits. They do in fact catch Eastern Cottontails. Two winters ago I came across a rather dramatic story etched onto a fresh layer of snow here in our yard. Rabbit prints on the ground were intercepted by wing tip feather imprints on either side. The prints continued- tracks framed by wing tips beating the snow until they went over the edge of a three foot high stone wall and ended several feet latter at the body of a bloodied  dead rabbit tucked under a dwarf conifer shrub. Guess what? No head. I have seen at least one other rabbit carcass here before missing its head and wondered what was up. The owl was most definitely a Barred Owl. I have lived here 40 years and have never seen or heard a Great Horned Owl, not to mention the wing spread was too small for GHOW. No idea if the head was a nuptial gift or a special gourmet meal for itself, but the owl returned three times to feed on the rabbit before it disappeared. So I think eastern cottontail is on the menu, at least for Barred Owls up here on Lincoln Hill.

Paul Wieczoreck
Hinesburg 

> On Jan 25, 2021, at 9:13 PM, Charlie La Rosa <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Interesting thread. Yes, cottontail rabbits (*Sylvilagus) *in Vermont are
> common inhabitants of the Champlain Valley and Chittenden County suburbs
> especially. Anyone who lives in So. Burlington is probably familiar with
> the cottontail or at least their tracks and droppings. The primary
> representative in Vermont is the eastern cottontail. Historically, New
> England cottontails were regular residents, but today they might be
> encountered only in southern Vermont if at all.
> 
> The rabbit that might be more likely to fall prey to a barred owl is the
> snowshoe rabbit or varying hare (*Lepus). *The habitat of these rabbits
> overlaps the forest habitat of the barred owl. They prefer the understory
> of young fir and spruce and the edges of alder swamps. Both the barred owl
> and the snowshoe are common around my house. It's not unusual to have a
> barred owl sitting in a tree near the bird feeders after sunrise. Perhaps
> they wait patiently for mice or voles or even red squirrels to venture out
> for spilled seed, especially at night, and the snowshoe rabbits can be
> found in every patch of suitable habitat.
> 
> A couple of winters ago, I had a trail cam set out on a well-used rabbit
> run to catch a photo of a hare in winter. When I looked at the photos, all
> snapped at night, I had one of a rabbit passing by the camera on the trail,
> and I noticed in the background at about the limit of the flash, a barred
> owl perched on a low branch next to the trail. Was it actively hunting the
> hares? Who knows? But it's fun to speculate. If I can find the photo, I
> will post it, but it was probably erased in favor of space for new photos.
> 
> Lots of redpolls here daily. One brown creeper a couple of days ago. No
> goldfinches or juncos, which is strange because they were present and
> plentiful every day last winter. The cardinal pair seems to have taken a
> liking to the place. A welcome addition.
> 
> Good wishes to Helena and four barred owls.
> Charlie La Rosa
> So. Washington
> 
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2021 at 6:14 PM H Nicolay <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi. Someone stated Barred owls are dense forest dwellers. Yes. But.... They
>> are the most common owl hit by cars. They are least bothered by human
>> activity and tend to sit on a tree by a roadside hoping for easy pickings.
>> They eat squirrels and frogs and snakes and even fish in addition to voles
>> and mice. If prey is too large they tear it up into smaller pieces. Helena
>> in Monkton who is caring for 4 Barred owls, all hit by cars. The four owls
>> eat 18 mice per day or 540 each month.
>> 
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 5:31 PM anneboby <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>>> Maeve - at times raptors have to be opportunists re food availability.
>>> I've seen a Rough-leg competing with Co. Ravens for a road killed fox
>>> carcass at the Ft. Edward grasslands in Washington Co, NY adjacent the VT
>>> border. Not exactly their usual lemming Arctic fare.  I'll pass on the
>>> rabbit head thing as probable pure myth: normally rabbits are field
>>> dwellers, Barred Owls dense forest dwellers.
>>> Bob Yunick
>>> Schenectady, NY
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Maeve Kim <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Sent: Mon, Jan 25, 2021 5:02 pm
>>> Subject: [VTBIRD] Barred Owls eating rabbits
>>> 
>>> I’d always thought Barred Owls take prey they can swallow whole, so when
>>> we saw one in our driveway last winter, huddled over a rabbit, we thought
>>> it was just desperate because a hard coating over the snow was preventing
>>> it from getting to its usual prey. However, a friend e-mailed photos
>> taken
>>> a few days ago of a Barred Owl eating a rabbit in their yard. He said
>> he’d
>>> heard that the males of this species often use rabbits’ heads as
>> courtship
>>> gifts. Has anyone else heard this?
>>> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
>>> 
>> 
>