Big Night Stalker

Taking the dog out for a bedtime potty call nowadays it is not unusual to hear the call of the call of the Great Horned Owl as dusk has settled upon the forest.  The horned owl is common around here and it is quite distinctive.  

This is one of the earliest nesting birds in Wisconsin; laying eggs in January and February.  Mated pairs raise one brood per year in an abandoned cavity nest, nest of a great blue heron or crow or even in the stump end of a large broken branch.

The horned owl is particularly gutsy being one of the few birds of prey that will take porcupines and skunks.  Plucky bird the horned own is - which is why it is sometimes called the Flying Tiger.  This bird of prey sports silent wing feathers, hearing so acute it can hear a rodent beneath the snow, bright yellow eyes and cannot turn it's head completely around.  Notably, it has a wingspan of up to four feet.  Why is that important?  This trail is groomed with a Rhino Bush Hog and a five foot wide cutting deck - at ground level.  Tree branches make the actual trail a bit narrower.

Helping to identify the fleeting appearance and disappearance of this night stalker.

There and gone again; in a ghostly flash.....

 

Big Bird

Recently, when I let out the dog before bedtime I heard the call of the Great Horned Owl as dusk settled upon the forest.  The horned owl is common around here and its call is quite distinctive.  And just a couple of days ago my cousin snapped this daylight photo in his backyard in Wauwatosa.

The horned owl is particularly gutsy being one of the few birds of prey that will take porcupines and skunks.  Plucky bird the horned owl is - which is why it is sometimes called the Flying Tiger. 

Following the Evidence

One of the advantages of hiking in the winter is the story that can be ascertained from evidence left in the snow.  That can include scat, urine stains, feathers and fur but namely tracks.

From our walk the other day we found this...

A large wing print left in the snow that was more than three feet-across from tip to tip with a large divot in the snow centered at the bottom.

 

 

If I had to guess this was left by a Great Horned Owl.  

The divot is where the birds talons plunged into the snow to grab they prey.  The hearing of this owl is so acute that they can discern a rodent beneath up to a foot of snow.

It's their nesting season now and I can hear them calling back and forth when I take the dog out before bedtime most nights.

Death Pays a Visit

Found in the front yard...

click on the remains for a closer look

 

Death paid a visit last night and I believe I now know who it is.  My vote goes to one of the resident Great Horned Owls - Bubo virginianus. 

The dogs and I have been finding this sort of thing rather regularly - scattered tufts of bunny fur, usually entrails and occasionally a limb.  I had been puzzled as to who the killer might be - hawk, coyote, owl, aliens or whatever.  This nails it as the remains of this bunny materialized overnight and were found on a patch of bare grass in the yard surrounded by snow. 

Even an amateur detective knows that owls hunt at night and because there were no other animal tracks in the snow surrounding the evidence the only conclusion is that death came from above.  Hence owl.  And likely the most common of owls around here.

As further evidence the horned owl lays its eggs in January and February so right about now they would be raising a hungry brood of owlets.

If you are a rabbit is sucks to be at the bottom of the food chain.  As the saying goes here in Door County - the strong survive and the weak are killed and eaten...

Flying Tiger

Yesterday I heard the call of the Great Horned Owl as dusk settled upon the forest.  The horned owl is common around here and it's call is quite distinctive.

It is coincidental that this morning when I let the Labs out before breakfast there was bunny fur scattered all about a section of the front yard.  It occurred to me that in the course of the evening Mr. Rabbit had fallen prey to Mr.Owl.

click on the carnage to enlarge

The horned owl is particularly gutsy being one of the few birds of prey that will take porcupines and skunks.  Plucky bird the horned own is - which is why it is sometimes called the Flying Tiger.