[CT Birds] Eastern Screech-Owl

[Steve Morytko]

On New Year's Day I was putting seed out in the yard at about 10am when I heard Blue Jays creating a ruckus in the thick understory behind my back yard. Suspecting there was a raptor about - Cooper's is regular and a shrike has been around recently - I decided to investigate. I walked down the road and sure enough 5-6 Blue Jays were perched in the understory  along with a brown Eastern Screech-Owl on a lateral branch 7 feet off the ground and about 3 feet from some of the jays. The jays were squawking a lot and while I was watching I saw one fly in and peck with its bill at the owl who in turn took a harmless swipe at it with a claw. A few moments later I noticed the EASO  leaning over as if it was looking down on something on the ground - perhaps it had a kill there? Very interesting I thought ... maybe Mary might like to see this bird and perhaps there would be a photo opportunity too. 

I walked back to the house and convinced Mary that we should take Benny (our 11.5 month old birder) for a little walk and birding lesson. Of course nothing happens fast these days so 15 minutes later we headed down the driveway toward our destination when Ed and Lori Kurlowitz happened by looking for the Red-headed Woodpecker. They decided to park and join us so we made our way back to the owl spot. Naturally when we got there there were no Blue Jays and no owl. However, on a hunch I decided to check the spot where the owl had been perched so I picked my way through the dense brush. When I reached the spot there was a beautiful murdered owl - face up and eyes open on the blood-spattered snow. There was a spot of blood on the feathers in the neck area but otherwise it was in perfect shape. I wondered if I had earlier witnessed the killing blow by the Blue Jay and the leaning over was the owl gasping its last breaths - a gruesome thought but certainly a
 possibility.

I'll admit that I really felt bad for this beautiful little owl. Could I have intervened and perhaps saved it? At the time I thought the owl might fly away at any moment and that it likely could defend itself from the jays. In hindsight I suppose I might have realized that it probably shouldn't have been in an exposed position during the day unless something was wrong with it. Perhaps it was an inexperienced young bird starving to death or maybe it had West Nile Virus? A few years ago a Long-eared Owl at UConn that was seen by many during daylight hours in a very exposed position met the same fate except I think it was crows that finished it off. But there really was no good reason for me to think that I should intervene in any way and any attempt to do so would simply have added stress to a bird that was already getting more than its fair share from the jays. Had it been flopping on the ground or acting weird in some other way I might have been
 persuaded to "help" but that wasn't the case. Besides, do I really want to touch a live bird - especially a can-do-bodily-harm owl - that might have WNV or something else that maybe I should be wary of? Probably not, but I did touch a dead one.

It's interesting that the Blue Jays only wanted to kill the owl and when that was done they simply left and went back to chowing down at the feeders. It might seem cruel but in reality this was a perfectly natural reaction by the jays and probably a fairly common event that I was lucky enough to witness. One doesn't often see a raptor become a victim of their prey. In any case this reminded me that other creatures in the real, natural world have to be on guard and in perfect health at all times because as soon as you're a little bit unsteady or slow you are likely to be a meal or a victim. Think about that the next time you're having a bad day.

Coincidentally - or maybe not if it's West Nile Virus - this is the second EASO I've found in 3 months within 1/4 mile of each other. The first one appeared to be the victim of a car strike but I'm reminded that there were a significant number of dead owls (mostly Barred Owls) being reported in Massachusetts this past fall so maybe there is something going on that might be affecting their judgment or reaction times. Based on recent sightings and our latest Christmas count I know there are at least a few more EASO's in the area but I expect not to hear that wonderful whinny around our house for a while and that I will miss.

Unfortunately Ed and Lori didn't get their life Eastern Screech-Owl. Benny had a real good look though and seemed to enjoy it. I had seen gray and red EASO before but not a brown one. The bird is headed to UConn and perhaps it will make it into the collection there.

Happy New Year,

Steve
 
Steve Morytko
288 Varga Rd.
Ashford, CT 06278 USA
smorytko at yahoo.com