Mowing Owl

So I'm out mowing around the pond and I get to the SE end when an owl jumps out of the weeds toward me.  The poor thing cannot fly.  It can hop about 3' in the air and then scoot forward about 2'.  Then it lands and wobbles it's head, like it's trying to focus.

I stop the mower and take a few pictures with my phone.  I walk back to the house and call Brother Trent, you know, the licensed falconer, for advice.  He does not answer.  Probably doing something less useful with his time, like working on his PhD.  I called our neighborhood State Police.  He calls the Clinton County DNR.  They are all up on Lake Freeman this week-end.  However, they suggest that it might fly off on its own.  Give it until morning, and if still there, call the Wildcat Creek Rehabilitation Center.  Good enough for me.

So I walk back over, this time with Apollo.  As I get close, it tries to fly again.  No dice.  I walked up to the back of it, close enough to touch - but I did NOT touch it.  It jumped up and flew off.  Good for it.  At least it's back in the trees and won't get eaten by a coyote tonight.

Brother Trent called as I was typing this.  I had already texted the photos below to him.  He identified it as an adult Great Horned Owl.  He suggested that it may have hit itself too hard chasing prey, or it could have also ingested some poison from a mouse or rat and was trying to process those chemicals.  Regardless, that's one more nocturnal raptor that should survive for a little longer.

Cool pics...

Adult Great Horned Owl at the Seager Pond.


Great Horned Owl flying off - to live yet another day.
Note lawnmower.  It came out of the weeds directly to the left of this picture.


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