Yesterday around 12:00 pm one of the juvenile Great Horned Owls was harassed by owls. The youngster felt the need to hunt even though dark was over 8 hours away. While Mom and Dad still feed the owlets, not all the time. This fact (not constantly being fed) makes the lousy hunters feel the need to hunt … often even during the day. This owlet (four months old and looks like an adult) will be kicked out of the Lester / Amity Forest by its parents within two months. Make certain you turn on the audio for the video. You will learn the sound of alarmed robins. (video link for email subscribers)
Great Horned Owl Juvenile
Hunting Robins … Harassed by Same
Very interesting! We were in Tucson in January where I watched a GHO being harassed by a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk – a bit cheeky I thought. The hawk was very agitated and noisy but the owl ignored it completely and the hawk eventually gave up. It’s never dull when you are out in the natural world.
Most of the time, if the owl (most species) are in a safe position, they will ignore any bird which is making the attack, but when the harassment ends … a few minutes later the owls look around and if they believe they are unobserved … move to a new hiding spot at that point.
what a dear one. wish i had some acres for it to call home later this summer. we’ve seen more robins lately- a young one last night on the garage roof. thanks for sharing!