As you read this, I’ll be boarding my flight to Portland, looking forward a lot to visiting that lovely city. I’ll be talking to the Center for Inquiry about free will on Friday and, on Thursday, having a discussion with Peter Boghossian’s class on “religion as a pseudoscience” at Portland State. As I didn’t bring my file of wildlife photos with me, I’ve put this one up in advance; but if readers send me good photos over the next few days, I’ll try to jump the queue and post those.
Today we have three pictures accompanied by a heartwarming tale from reader Bruce Fall:
This winter and spring, two great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) nested in a park near my home in South Minneapolis. Inexplicably, they selected a site only 50 yards from a heavily used path, in full view of hundreds of people daily. Great horned owls don’t build their own nests but use those built by other species, in this case a squirrel. The nest was flimsy from the start, and one night in early March it collapsed and the two young fell to the ground.
I called the University of Minnesota Raptor Center and they sent a volunteer with an artificial nest, which he anchored in the nest tree. The young were unhurt after the 30-foot fall, and the parents readily accepted the new nest. All was fine until a few days ago when one of the young took its initial flight. It flew weakly but managed to get 1/4 mile from the nest, where it ended up on the ground dangerously close to a very busy street. Two of us guarded the owl for an hour while we awaited the Raptor Center volunteer. He captured it and returned it to its nest tree, and as of yesterday both young are staying home and doing fine.
Wasn’t that nice of Bruce and his helper—and the Minnesota Raptor Center? Here are the photos:
The fallen chick about to be returned to its new nest:
The third photo is of an adult bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) wheeling overhead during the first owl adventure.
Lucky for the owls Bruce was on the job. Good work.
Wow! Do you think the eagle was checking out the owl chick as a possible meal?
I was wondering the same thing! If an adult owl was around, though, I think it would be a formidable defender.
That’s a great raptor story, complete with eagle lagniappe! It’s wonderful that there are people like Bruce. Makes one feel proud of our species for a change.
Glad to hear the owl family is safe and sound. Great pictures of the whole ordeal also.
On another note Jerry, be sure to check out
Multnomah Whiskey Library while in Portland if you get a chance….
Well done!
Cool story!
Great story and pics, Bruce! Thanks for helping this family!
Is there anything more vulnerable than a newly fledged bird?
Yes, I despair of the baby blackbirds (Turdus merula) that fledge in gardens where I live (and all over europe)every Spring and, lacking completely in guile, are sitting ducks (well you know what I mean!) for neighborhood cats.
I think baby turtles are probably also a contender in the ‘most vulnerable’ stakes though – lots of them get picked off before they even reach the sea.
Great pics of a fabulous species. Well done for rescuing the chicks (twice!).