Pouring, gushing, pounding,
torrential rain! How could it rain so much so long? A friend's rain gauge
measured 1.87 inches in 10 hours and it was still raining!
I received an amazing report
today about two GREAT HORNED OWLS sitting on Lowell Point Road in the predawn
darkness around 6:30 am. One owl seemed to be sitting on a dead bird. They both
flushed as she drove up. When the caller returned to Lowell Point in the early
afternoon she saw the still fresh carcass of a black bird with webbed feet
lying in the middle of the road.
Mystified, she called me.
Equally mystified, I dashed out in the torrential rain and found a headless
PELAGIC CORMORANT with most of its innards spilling out. I moved it off the
road to prevent scavengers from being hit.
How very odd! Would an owl
attack a pelagic cormorant as it floated peacefully on the dark water near
shore? Would the owl be able to haul an adult pelagic cormorant as it struggled
and flailed, out of the water, kill it, and proceed to tear off its head and
eat it?
This strikes me as very
unusual behavior for a Great Horned Owl, or even two, to be hunting seabirds at
night.
If anyone has any experience
with this, I'd be very curious to know.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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