Lunch Time?!

[Fire0725]

Look out little Squirrel! That Barred Owl has his eyes on you!!


Look out Squirrel! by Fire0725, on Flickr

[Bill & Jaye]

Great shot!  Oh what timing!

[BoboBird]

Really cool catch there. Well seen.

Where was this?

[Fire0725]

This was down at Hall's Road this morning (in Whitby). A few of us had been watching the owl for awhile, and then my husband gave our 5yr old son some birdseed with peanuts in it to feed the little birds with... then a couple of squirrels came by, quite interested in the mix my son was dishing out, and all of a sudden, the owl's eyes popped open! The owl tracked the squirrels with his eyes for quite awhile, and there were a few times we were thinking he might swoop down and eat him! We did warn my little guy that this might happen, and that if it did, he should not be frightened (I was really afraid it would scare the heck out of him to see that, and give him nightmares!), but the owl just sat and watched. The squirrel even made it right up the tree the owl was perched on, and the owl glared at him, but just wasn't hungry enough to make a lunch out of him. Once the squirrel noticed the owl, boy did he hightail it out of there in a huge hurry! Glad you guys like the photo! I did a few frames of this - one has the owl in the background out of focus, but this one was just far more compelling!

[Rotarran]

Fantastic picture!! Well done!

[Palo]

Great catch Fire0725!  I think Owls are Crepuscular, active mostly during the twilight hours of dawn/dusk, and usually hunt then.  Did this happen in the middle of the day?  Or maybe, as you said, was not hungry enough. Congrats on the capture.

[Fire0725]

This was about 11:00am or so. I have been out to see this owl a few different times, and have seen him hunting as late as 10am or so. Its made me wonder if perhaps his eyesight is not as good as it is supposed to be though, as others have commented that he tends to hunt later in the morning, then again in the afternoon....?? Not sure. Either way, it was wonderful to see him again - I'd not seen him since about early December. I have to say, that since I began to learn more about birds and birding, I sure am having a great time! I find I'm more active than ever now, out in the woods or fields an hour or two almost every day, and have lost about 12lbs since I began seriously enjoying this birding / photography thing! Glad you guys like the photo! Its one of my favorites!