Best Owl Day so far

[skyviewer]

At the start of the day i saw one Barred Owl and 3 Great Horned Owls which i got pics of.  The pics are not the greatest cause they were in heavy bush and high up.  Later i heard another two Great Horns calling to eachother but i could not find them.  The real experience was with the Great Horns first i saw one sitting in a tree along a well travelled path around noon with something in his talons.  Upon closer inspection i saw that it was a large bird inits talons.  I have seen a barred owl in these woods recently i hope it's not the barred owl.  Have a look at the pic.  You can only see the wing and that is all i was able to see as well.  Upon hiking further i heard some calls and ended up finding another two calling to each other.  All three were calling to eachother but the crows kept pestering the one who had lunch.  Could the one be a baby this early and its a family or is it two males after a female or a male and two females.  Not sure how that works which was why i was thinking family but i also thougt they didn't start mating till around now.  Anyways let me know what you think
A great day with four owls sighted and i heard another two.

Got lunch come and get it

Is that the wing of a barred owl or maybe a juvenile redtail or a sharp shinned all in which i have seen in the area. OR another great horned.  Do they kill eachother cause its mating season?

Calling to the other owl

Here's a back view of the third owl

Darn Crows.  This was the first one that had lunch.  Did he/she hide it for later cause the crows were bugging him/her or was it just kill?

[Anonymous]

From what I can see it's got the colouration of a barred...would simply be nature being nature, the bigger eats the smaller.

[mr.sharp-photo]

looks like an owl wing.
the GHOs don't like other owls living in their hood, eh?

do they eat them or just kill them?

[Murray]

To bad for the Barred, but I remember last winter
the Barred that laid waste to quite a few owls on Amherst.
What comes around goes around!
Survival of the Biggest!!!

[beresford]

It always saddens me to see any bird, big or small, killed, but that is what makes nature so remarkable, nothing is ever wasted, nothing happens without reason.

Its a big part of what draws me into nature, it makes so much sense.

Anyways... some awesome pics and its true, what goes around comes around.

Cheers

[Ann Brokelman]

Lets hope it is not the barred as he has been coming there for years for a couple weeks.  I guess we will find out soon enough

[MEGHAN]

Wonderful day for you.
Nice find as well.
Nature at her best, or worst depending on your opinion.
It seems GHO are the only natural predator or the Barred Owl, you can also see a talon extended out on the branch to the right of the GHO. So the odds are good the victim is a Barred Owl
Great photos.
Meghan

[skyviewer]

Thanks for the comments everyone.  Four owls in one day is a personal best.  Its funny i saw numerous people hike right down this path right by this the GHO.  I guess you need to keep your eyes peeled.  He was well camouflaged other than he was a big mass sitting there.  I'm thinking it was a family as the third owl does kind of look like the baby i saw in the spring last year just a little older.
I have looked for the barred owl since then and it looks like it was the GHO's lunch.  

Thanks Meghan i didn't even notice the talon in the pic before and i have the full res version.