Thanks for this . I’m hopeful that this kind of ethic will eventually catch on in obsessive-compulsive birding in Vt.
Sent from my iPad
> On Jan 26, 2021, at 8:20 AM, H Nicolay <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi all. Probably Barred owls will eat anything rather than starve. They are
> as big and have powerful talons like Red Tail hawks. One observation
> though. These owls usually do not hunt in the middle of the night. Thats
> when the Great Horned owls prowl and prey on the Barreds. Rabbits are
> crepuscular and to some extent Barred owls. I always feed mine just before
> dark and they seem to like this arrangement. Their mouths can open very
> wide but you wouldn't know it when an injured owl arrives. Let. Me. Die.
> Refuses food. Slowly accepts a teeny piece of mouse. Slowly more little
> pieces. As it feels better, which may take days or weeks I try a small
> whole mouse. Cut. It. Up. Ok, sorry. Little pieces for what seems an
> eternity. One day it decides to accept a whole mouse. Praise be to God. Of
> course, by then a new owl arrives and the whole process is repeated. The
> reason it won't accept a whole mouse is two fold. It doesn't feel well
> enough yet with probably a lingering headache and it doesn't trust me
> enough to close its eyes for the time it takes to swallow a mouse. I find
> these owls so interesting. Every one with a distinct personality. Helena in
> Monkton who needs to run out and feed owls before they get really ornery.
>
>> On Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 7:52 AM Susan Elliott <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Cornell's Birds of the World mentions that 'prey is either swallowed
>> whole (in the case of smaller items) or the head is consumed first, then
>> body (larger prey).'
>> So perhaps the owl bit off more than it could chew, so to speak, or
>> something startled it away from its catch before it was all consumed?
>> We watched a Barred Owl eat a rabbit during the course of a winter day. As
>> dusk fell we experienced a 'thunder snow' squall. It was an eerie sight to
>> watch the owl, who was sitting rather low on a small post under a shrub, as
>> the snow was dotted with red and fur in the flashing light.
>> Sue Elliott
>>
>>
>> On Monday, January 25, 2021, 10:32:09 PM EST, Paul Wieczoreck <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> 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
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
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