Glad I Gave a Hoot

[ferdyo...@comcast.net]

I hadn't planned to bird today. In fact, I didn't intend to leave the house. But I had to do some shopping, so I thought I'd take a quick spin around Emily Oaks Nature Center just to stretch my legs. I didn't expect to see much, but hoped for a nuthatch or two. At first, I got exactly what I expected--nothing but squirrels.

 

Then I saw something big move in the trees. I didn't get a good look through the branches, but I saw a flash of rufous, so I thought I had a red-tail. Then, two crows and several squirrels started calling the alarm. Sure I was right, I honed in on the crows.

 

But it wasn't a red-tail. It was a great horned owl getting harassed mercilessly by the crows. A cooper's hawk flew near but wanted nothing to do with this melee and kept going. The owl wasn't driven away, but the noise got to me. I left thinking "you never know." Expect nothing, get a bird that doesn't appear everyday.

 

Marilyn Ferdinand

Skokie, Ill.

Cook County