The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
Autumn 2014
Pacific Northwest
Returning to the car from a walk in the woods, we saw unexpected movement by the side of the road. Zooming in with my camera, I saw it was a Barred Owl, just standing there.
It's really cool to see an owl that close, but it's strange behavior and possibly a sign of trouble. For one thing it was daytime (about 4 pm), and for another, it was holding its wings awkwardly. What to do if it was hurt, like hit by a car? The nearest wildlife rehab place is on another island and would be unreachable til the next day.
I moved closer to see if it would fly off, as birds will when you invade their comfort zone. It watched both of us intently where we each stood, turning its head this way and that. Extremely alert and focused, but unmoving.
I backed away and returned to the car. As we drove slowly past it on our way, we saw the reason for this strange behavior: it had a large rabbit beneath it. The owl was "mantling", spreading wings over its food to protect it from theft. My rabbit...don't even think about it.
The prey looked so big the owl probably needed to divide it into smaller portions before flying it up into a tree, but clearly was not about to abandon all that food in the meantime. Fortunately this is a quiet time of year with not much traffic. I hope the owl got its meal to a secure location in the woods.
Today is Election Day...like the owl, protect your interests, don't be discouraged or intimidated. If you haven't already, go vote!
~
The Bucket's now open for your reports of what's happening in your own natural neighborhood.
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" is posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and Wednesday at 3:30 on the Daily Kos front page. It's a great way to catch up on diaries you might have missed. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)