Hello, My husband and I came across an enormous fledgling owl in our woods on Monday afternoon, 4/28. To my untrained eye it looked like a Great Horned Owl, but we have heard a Barred Owl in our woods recently. It was still partly downy and had some adult wing feathers. It was perched on the end of a log, alert and watching our every move. It clacked its beak loudly and puffed up its feathers dramatically, but did not attempt to fly. I remember its bright eyes and circular head movements. It was impressive!
At 10:30am this morning we saw it again, a very short distance away from where it was on Monday, perched on another fallen log. This time, however, it was unresponsive to our presence (we were making plenty of noise). It was fluffed up and its eyes were barely open, and it did not clack or raise its feathers. It had been sitting there for a while, as evidenced by the droppings beneath. I found the change in its behavior concerning. I am wondering if this is normal behavior for a fledgling owl? Was it merely sleepy and cold? If you would like to come and see it, it is on our property at 786 Elm St Ext. in Ithaca. To get there, go up West Hill on Elm St, continue past Westhaven Rd and ValleyView, to where the road levels out. You will see a black mailbox on the left w/786 just before the road dips down into Coy Glen. Our driveway is on the right, across from the mailbox, heading into the forest. The owl is located on the left side of the driveway towards the end of the straight stretch, before the driveway veers right. When last seen it was perched on a fallen log on the near side of the gorge. Walk for less than a minute into the forest on the edge of the gorge to locate it. My husband Mark will be home this afternoon, his # is 227-4328. If you have trouble finding it, he might be able to help. Here is a link to a picture, if the attachment doesn't come through. https://plus.google.com/u/0/117010003139097916674/posts Thanks! Claire Hope Fox -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
