 It's
a good thing that Ward and June had such great success last night, because
the crows did not let up today. It started at daybreak as June was drying
herself on the owl rail after a morning bath. They made one strike after
another, but always jerked away at the last minute as she saw them coming
and snapped in their direction. I'm not sure if the crows would go after
owlets as old as June's, but they are known to eat the nestlings of
smaller birds, and June is taking no chances. When she was not on the owl
rail or in the nest, she was on perches such as this one just fifteen feet
away. It would be suicide for a crow to allow itself to get trapped in the
nest by June, and they appear to recognize this. |
 When
she did turn her back on them, as in this nest entry, they were quick to
strike. Much has been written about the possible "motives" of
such tactics by the crows, but the survival benefits to them appear
obvious to me. They are limiting the owl's population density by
preventing them from hunting in the daytime. Since owls (frequently great
horned owls, and sometimes barred owls) eat crows, this harassment is an
effective use of their energy. By the same token, it would be a waste of
their energy to harass a young branching owl before it is able to hunt.
This would explain why Ward and June's owlets have gotten virtually a free
pass in their first few weeks out of the nest in past years. Let's hope
that practice will continue this year. The owlets did a lot of wing
flapping in the nest today and spent more time stretching up toward the
door and playing with the owlet ladder. They appear to already be contemplating
their big day. |