Heislerville WMA

[Jon Holcombe]

Monday at sunset, February 26. As I pulled into the WMA I was looking around and on a dead tree, staring directly at me, was a Great Horned Owl. I stopped and before I could reach into my pocket and pull out my pocket cam, he took off. He appeared to be bigger than the red tailed hawk that lives in a pine tree on my property. Later, while taking this shot, I noticed him in the dead tree at the far left of the frame. I stared at him, wondering if I could get to my long lens in my trunk and swap lenses, but he took off and flew into the island in the shot. He disturbed a heron, apparently nesting in the edge, who took off squawking, flew in a circle then went back in the trees. I wondered if the owl could take the heron and I am thinking he could.

 

[RednekF350]

Beautiful.
The Delaware Bay shoreline is truly an amazing wilderness.

 

[manumuskin]

The owl has a pair of knives and some meat hooks.The heron has a spear.Thats a hard call to make.A Grey heron is a big bird.I don't think an owl would attack something that big but if it did I think it would have a fight on it's hand.

 

[Jon Holcombe]

The owl has a pair of knives and some meat hooks.The heron has a spear.

***EDIT- I forgot the video would show up in the thread. In black and white andI did not see anything graphic, but do not let kids watch it.***

I guess there is a reason the Great Horned Owl is nicknamed "Tiger Owl". An attack in darkness. At 45 seconds the action starts. A two minute delay and the owl returns. An impressive predator.

 

[manumuskin]

I never woulda thunk it though come to think a buddy of mine took a field recording one night and it sounded an awful lot like an owl jumping a turkey roost in the dark after he walked by and disturbed the turkeys in the tree.Sounds like they shifted when he walked by and then were jumped by something big.I told Him to go back the next day and look for confirming feathers but he didn't.If an owl will jump a turkey i guess it would jump a heron.

 

[RednekF350]

That's it. No more Wise potato chips for me !

 

[Heywood]

Monday at sunset, February 26. As I pulled into the WMA I was looking around and on a dead tree, staring directly at me, was a Great Horned Owl. I stopped and before I could reach into my pocket and pull out my pocket cam, he took off. He appeared to be bigger than the red tailed hawk that lives in a pine tree on my property. Later, while taking this shot, I noticed him in the dead tree at the far left of the frame. I stared at him, wondering if I could get to my long lens in my trunk and swap lenses, but he took off and flew into the island in the shot. He disturbed a heron, apparently nesting in the edge, who took off squawking, flew in a circle then went back in the trees. I wondered if the owl could take the heron and I am thinking he could.
View attachment 10360

My neighbor tells me a GHO discovered a way into his chicken house, and used it as a regular larder for months whenever he needed a snack. He liked Perdue fare.