I realize it has been a long time since I updated the blog, and I apologize for not having done so earlier. I hope you take it as a sign of me doing other things besides birdwatching and blogging! Now back to the blog...
Thursday, March 27th:
Arrived in my office and was welcomed by a pair of jays calling incessantly near the pond. There were also a few interspersed calls of crows. I looked out to find the poor owl being harassed by four birds – a couple of crows accompanied by a couple of jays! They chased the owl from its roost, who made a lazy attempt to get rid of its tormentors by flying towards the bridge. The crows and jays followed in close pursuit and the chase continued in the area between the pond and the bridge until the owl finally found refuge in a clump of branches of a fallen tree.
The owl perched in plain sight, almost directly beneath my office window!
For now it seemed that the owl had made peace with its neighbors and could get on with its daytime roosting. But it was not to last too long. Within fifteen minutes, Jasper was drawn to the commotion, and joined the crows in driving away the ‘intruder’. Jasper made a few swooping flights approaching very close to the owl. The owl got the message and took off to the north past San Martin drive.
Friday, March 28th:
One of the owls was again being harassed today near the north side of the pond by jays and crows. It perched for a while on a stump near Olin hall, where it was in relatively plain sight. Here it stayed and preened. I also noticed the second owl roosting peacefully in the clump of the fallen tree. This is one of their favored roosting sights at the pond. In a few minutes, the owl from the stump flew to its partner and both owls seemed to snuggle together. There was certainly a display of mutual connection between the two birds and sometimes their interaction involved locking of beaks together resembling a kiss. It was a rare opportunity just to have both owls here together and to observe their interactions was surely a treat!
The Owl pair is well sheltered in this clump of branches a few feet off the ground.
The pair shifts their roost a little closer to Olin hall. It seems there is not much cover here for the birds, but their camouflage works just fine on this gray afternoon when the contrast is low.