{"id":31378,"date":"2015-05-16T06:34:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-16T12:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=31378"},"modified":"2015-05-16T21:44:26","modified_gmt":"2015-05-17T03:44:26","slug":"a-question-of-compatibility-among-owl-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/16\/a-question-of-compatibility-among-owl-species\/","title":{"rendered":"A Question of Compatibility Among Owl Species"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes birds behave exactly opposite of how the literature says they’re “supposed” to behave. This is a possible example.<\/p>\n

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\"great<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/strong> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Many (perhaps most)\u00a0local birders, nature lovers and bird photographers are aware of the resident Great Horned Owls in the “hay barn”\u00a0on Antelope Island. They’ve been there for years.\u00a0Usually during daytime they’re high\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0interior metal girders and in the shade but\u00a0earlier this week I\u00a0found this adult basking in the morning sun on the exterior of the building. The bird was so sleepy that it usually had its eyes closed.<\/p>\n

I rarely visit these birds because the setting and lighting leave a lot\u00a0to be desired and I like to leave them in peace but occasionally\u00a0when the gate to the area is\u00a0open (which isn’t often lately)\u00a0I take one turn around the barn just to check on their welfare.<\/p>\n

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1\/80, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/strong> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Each year they raise a family in this nest box on one of the high girders. This year they’re raising two chicks – this is what they looked like three weeks ago (the image is a little soft at 1\/80 sec).<\/p>\n

But not too far away\u00a0there’s another nest box under the roof of the same\u00a0barn…<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/100, f\/14, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/strong> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

that is occupied by Barn Owls and it has been for years. This image was\u00a0taken the same day as the first shot of the Great Horned Owl so you can see that both species are raising families under the same roof simultaneously and they’ve been doing so for many seasons.<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/60, f\/8, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/strong> EF500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There used to be a dilapidated old metal trailer adjacent to the barn that was filled with an assortment of metal junk and once the Barn Owl chicks were fledged they would often roost deep\u00a0in its interior\u00a0during the daytime.\u00a0There were five of them but here one can’t be seen. This image was taken five summers ago.<\/p>\n

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I’ve always wondered how these two species of owls coexist so\u00a0compatibly under the same roof. It’s always been my understanding\u00a0that owls in general and Great Horned Owls in particular\u00a0do not tolerate the close presence of other resident owls but these birds apparently\u00a0haven’t read the scientific literature on behavior.<\/p>\n

One of my trusted sources for information on bird behavior is Birds of North America Online (a paid subscription site)\u00a0out of Cornell University.\u00a0 Here’s some of\u00a0what they have to say on the subject about Great Horned Owls:<\/p>\n