Seward, Alaska
My neighbor called at 5 pm and told me there was a dead GREAT HORNED OWL in the rose bushes across the alley. I rushed outside with gloves and a cardboard box. To my amazement and consternation, there indeed was a giant owl, face down in the leaves, wings spread wide, surrounded by a tangle of rose bush branches. It was impaled on a sharp, broken off rose shoot, possibly through the heart.
We speculated on how this adult, experienced hunter could have died, diving after a small rodent at the side of the alley, never saw the menace, hit hard, broke its neck and died instantly. Given the tangle of branches, perhaps it spun around before it died to rest as we found it.
I gently lifted it off the stem and smoothed its disarrayed feathers. We admired its soft, feathered feet ending in impressive, sharp and powerful talons and the non-slip sole. The hard, sharp, curved black bill with sensitive bristles. The half-open, fading yellow eye, staring blankly. The pair of feather tufts on its head that give its name, hardly horns. The fringed leading edge of the primary feathers, designed to completely muffle any flight sound. So soft and beautiful and yet so hard and fierce.
We don’t normally hear owls until late winter, and rarely get to see them unless we are really, really lucky to get a glimpse just before dark as they fly over, silhouetted against the deepening night sky. Yet they too are our neighbors, quietly hunting in the alternate universe of night.
We were all deeply saddened by the loss of this mysterious and powerful Owl, but felt enriched to see and touch it. The Nature Channel is often hard to watch.
On a positive note, I was delighted to first hear, then see the reunited TRUMPETER SWAN family trumpeting as they paddled down the Lagoon yesterday morning.
Also, Todd Eskelin succeeded in recapturing the bright male ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD in Questa Woods today. He was amazed to learn the little guy had gained a gram this fall. Another Anna’s in town remained elusive despite several hours of watching and waiting.
Todd expects even more Anna’s in November and encouraged the neighbors to set up feeders. Be sure to clean and change the sugar solution once a week or more often if it gets cloudy. The nasty black fungus that can grow in the sugar water causes their throat to swell and they die.
Heated feeders work better than heat lamps, at considerable savings with an 8-watt bulb secured inside a repurposed salsa bowl (still with feet!) glued to the bottom of the feeder. Once the feeder is set up, they know exactly where it is. If you must move it, do it gradually. When not at the feeder, they go “bugging” and glean insects and spiders from trees and shrubs for protein.
I learned that this species has gradually expanded its breeding range from Mexico north along the coast to British Columbia and now Sitka. A small percent of the population continue to try to expand the range, the ones we enjoy in the fall and sometimes winter. They do not migrate, unlike the Rufous Hummingbird, and most likely perish in the long winter though they can survive very cold temperatures.
Breeding Anna’s and their young have not yet been documented in Southcentral. Young Anna’s have a corrugated bill edge which gradually gets smooth from the tip towards the base. Not sure why that is advantageous for the youngster.
I also learned that decoys, no matter how realistic, do not attract live Hummingbirds to the banding trap.
Todd is a wealth of information. So much more to know about these tiny marvels!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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