Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus, Keene, February 26th, 2005. We found this Great Horned Owl close to West Street in Keene on our way home from watching a Nelson’s Gull at Turner Falls, MA.

Although the light was fading fast with snow flurries developing, I decided to try and get a few images, especially since we’d found all the owl species to be few and far between in the Keene area.

Much to our surprise the bird was actively hunting over an open field close to a busy road and a snowmobile track, recalling our Great Gray Owl experience from Ile Bizard, Montreal three weeks earlier. Like those birds, this Great Horned wasn’t shy (or more likely, really hungry) and caught a vole from the field whilst being watched.

To add a touch of the bizarre, I then heard a Northern Shrike singing and soon found it perched above the snowmobile track. The shrike actually swooped in and hovered over the owl while the owl mantled its prey in the snow. After a few seconds, the owl flew up to a tree above the bike path and the shrike proceeded to harass it.

Great Horned Owl with prey, and Northern Shrike (right).

The owl was still carrying the vole when a male Cooper’s Hawk flew into the same tree, quickly getting rid of the shrike. The hawk in turn began mobbing the owl with some very raucous screaming. At that point, with concern over the owl’s meal, we decided to leave. This was actually our first Great Horned Owl in Keene and was rather unexpected, as was the amazing interaction of other predators around the owl.

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