A little local trivia: "FYI for walkers on Aleck bay road: Ed was dive bombed by a Barred owl in the woods section, near Wigre's driveway, about 4pm a couple days ago. Owl latched onto his head and wouldn't let go until he brushed it away. Luckily it's only his windbreaker hood with divots now not his scalp! Probably a juvenile that's been driven away by parents, hungry and stressed. If you're walking that section of road, wear a good hat and avoid late afternoon, when owls are more active. He got a picture of it:"
Funny, early in the morning that happened, I was woken with the hooting of an owl. It only happens a few times a year and it is a pleasurable waking. Later, while driving, two large birds came from both sides toward the center of the road. Then they were joined by 3 more. They were so close I felt I could almost touch them and had to slow way down. Taking a closer look I saw they were vultures. Probably a nearby dead deer and the sound of the car startled them.
9
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I’ve been dive bombed by Catbirds, Jays and Seagulls, never by an owl. I have had some close calls with hawk while driving, but they were after something else and just not watching what was coming down the road.
Barnie2years
Level 8
Dec 24, 2021
2
Maybe some of us should start wearing helmets as we walk.
That's a Barred Owl. Their vocalization is striking, unique and guttural. It comes from a pouch in their lower throat as they expel air.
LiterateHiker
Level 9
Dec 24, 2021
0
Thank you for the interesting link. Once volunteered for one of Seattle's environmental learning centers. The center's mission was to bring nature to school aged kids (Camp Long). As such it had a number of naturalists one of whom was an expert on Owls. He was conflicted but this owl as it is an invasive (as are we) and is pushing out other species (this has already happened here). He would tell the kids the sound of the owl was like, 'who hoots for who, who hoots for who.'
Yikes! That sounds scary. It must be mating season for them. I've been dive bombed by red wing blackbirds, which are quite aggressive during mating season. It happened while walking through a graveyard with a friend. He was taller than me, so they attacked him! Here's what I've read: If birds attack, they will go for the tallest person in a group. That's about the only time I felt glad to be on the shorter side.
Organist1
Level 8
Dec 24, 2021
0
Interesting that it happen by owl (when is mating season). While walking I have sometimes disturbed large birds (once it was several Eagles) and have yet to be attacked.
Re-reading the report it was a young bird going through fledging. I can imagine it's a stressful time for animals. Even humans can't handle this natural phase. When working on some windows, two summers ago, a cattle ranch across the street had separated the calves and their mothers. It was hard to concentrate on my work with all the pitiful sounds.
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