Is this Barred Owl sick? (1 Viewer)

[Guppyfry]

Well, I think it is a Barred Owl. For the last couple of weeks, we (my dogs and I), have surprised this owl down on the ground, each time in the same area. I am on acreage that is partly open and partly treed, surrounded by thickly wooded areas and similar properties as mine, in Northern BC. I know there are many Barred Owls around, I often hear their delightful call at night, and often have the spine tingling experience of seeing them silently glide by just overhead. Being dusk and with their amazing camouflage, I do not notice it on the ground until we approach and then it swoops up into a tree. I have been curious as to why it is sitting on the ground. My internet research on Barred Owl behaviour has not yielded any satisfactory answers.

This morning, around 6am, in the same corner of my property, near the tree line, once again I see it swoop up into a tree from the ground. We are in the midst of a Forest Tent Caterpillar infestation, and most of the deciduous trees in my area have been defoliated, affording me a good view of the owl in the tree. He does not fly off but continues to watch us, and I notice that it is sitting with his feathers somewhat ruffled, eyes half closed - like a sick bird. He made no effort to leave, and I even had time to go back to the house and get my camera and get back to the owl for some shots. (Surprisingly good quality pics for X16 zoom in a pocket point and shoot).

What do you all think? Is this normal affect for an owl? Would being sick explain the on-the-ground behaviour?

He (or she), did have his eyes wild open when he first flew up into the tree, then settled into this pose.

(How do I turn the

 

[Bowlander]

Doesn't look well to me. Ruffled feathers and drooping wings are never a good sign.

Is there any chance it could have eaten a poisoned rodent?

I saw a Barn Owl for the first time in my barn last week and have now taken away the rat poison.

 

[fugl]

Two weeks seems a long time for a sick bird to hang on. What's the ground like? Barred Owls are known to hunt amphibians on foot and to wade in shallow water after fish and crawdads.

 

[Guppyfry]

Hi, thanks for the replies - Bowlander, I guess it is possible that it ate poisoned mice, but I doubt it. I never use any poison of any kind, and there is plenty of land and plenty of wild small rodents. Another household may have had put poisoned mouse/rat bait out, but properties are spread out, and mice don`t travel far from their nests. So the probability of him hunting and getting a poisoned rodent amid the open areas and heavy wild mouse population is quite low.

fugl - that is interesting info about Barred Owls. The open areas are grassy - my place used to be horse pasture long time ago. There are a LOT of toads here in the grass. I guess the owl could have been hunting toads. Would he be coming back to the same area on a regular basis? Do owls hunt in a given territory?

I just always pictured owls as hunting on the wing - wouldn't have expected one to be stalking its prey on the ground.

 

[fugl]

fugl - that is interesting info about Barred Owls. The open areas are grassy - my place used to be horse pasture long time ago. There are a LOT of toads here in the grass. I guess the owl could have been hunting toads. Would he be coming back to the same area on a regular basis? Do owls hunt in a given territory?

I just always pictured owls as hunting on the wing - wouldn't have expected one to be stalking its prey on the ground.

Yes, Barred Owls are territorial so returning to a good food source day after day wouldn't be surprising. They typically hunt from a perch, seldom if ever on the wing.

 

[Guppyfry]

Well, that would explain the on-the-ground behaviour. Still, I get wonder if the owl is not well as per the attached pics - with the ruffled feathers and half-closed eyes. Reminds me of pet birds that I have had that would sit like this when they were sick.

 

[fugl]

Well, that would explain the on-the-ground behaviour. Still, I get wonder if the owl is not well as per the attached pics - with the ruffled feathers and half-closed eyes. Reminds me of pet birds that I have had that would sit like this when they were sick.

All that the photos show to me is a sleepy owl at its daytime roost. The big owls often aren't all that upset by human intruders and keep tabs on them through half-closed lids, particularly in areas where they are used to seeing people around. My guess is that if your owl were startled by a sudden noise or seriously alarmed in some other way its eyes would snap wide open quickly enough. This at least has been my experience with Great Horned Owls in Nevada. Barred Owls are exceedingly rare in the state and I don't have any experience with them here.

 

[Cinereous]

He certainly looks very sick.. any of the above could be right... Looking at his sloped position on the branch he's definitely not asleep.. He's hunched forward, wings dropped to balance himself, squinting eyes... His mouth looks dirty probably from foraging on the ground subsiding on what ever he could find.. Looks like he's on he way out to me.. The mortality rate amongst owls in the wild is horrendous.. many die before they get to breeding age.. For the most part we hardly ever witness these mortalities... There could be a million different reasons including poisoning.. It's sad to see them like this...
Others may disagree, but that's my opinion...

Did you think about feeding him?????? Putting food out????