Aggressive Owl in Superior

[Thomas Heinrich]

This article in Boulder’s Daily Camera about an owl (Great Horned, I presume) caught my attention:

https://www.dailycamera.com/2021/02/02/who-me-superior-warns-residents-about-aggressive-owl/

Seems if the aggression is due to protecting a nest, it would be better not to attempt to relocate the owl.  

Thomas Heinrich

Boulder, CO

Nyc...@aol.com

[mvjo...@gmail.com]

Agree. Seems better to let it be. Maybe warn hikers of that situation.   John Rawinski Monte Vista, CO

[Scott]

It is unlikely that  any Great Horned Owl would defend its nest before the eggs have hatched.

The owls incubation is 35 days, at least.  This means that the owl would have had to lay its eggs in late December. This has only been documented a handful of times in Colorado.

I find it hard to believe that the bird was defending anything. It is better to believe that the entire thing was a misunderstanding.

When near a Great Horned Owl, the birds will fly away from the intruder.  Sometimes they will appear to be flying at the intruder. They are a heavy bird.  Due to their weight, when they take off they drop a few feet before flapping hard enough to gain elevation.  My guess is that the bird was simply flying away from someone and they took it wrong.

A Great Horned Owl can capture a mouse while it is running. If they wanted to hit someone they would. They wouldn't miss.

Just my thoughts

Scott Rashid
Estes Park

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[mblackford]

When Storage Tech was in Superior, a friend of ours was out jogging early in the morning by that facility.  An owl flew at him from behind and knocked him down.   Luckily it didn't use talons.  

Maureen Blackford 

Boulder County, CO

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[Peter Ruprecht]

Just a bit more background on this situation in case anyone is interested.  I live pretty close to where the incidents happened.

At least three groups of people have had a GHO swoop down at them after sunset in residential neighborhoods.  In at least two cases, the owl hit a child in the head hard enough to cause deep scratches or punctures.  As I understand it, all of the groups of people were aware of the owl's presence prior to it swooping, and my impression is that in some cases they were observing it from 100 feet or less.

These incidents happened over about a 10 day period.  Two were in the same neighborhood but one was over 500m away.  Not sure if it's the same owl in all cases.

Thanks for everyone's feedback both here and on the CFO FB page.  I think a common theme is that it is important to educate residents about the need to respect raptors' space, especially when the birds are in territorial mode.  Just like we (or at least some of us!) have learned to respect the coyotes that share our suburban areas.

Peter Ruprecht

Superior

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