Of Noisy Cats and Crows and Owls

My cat, the big guy, Lord Byron is sitting in our kitchen window hollering at a murder of crows.  They are clustered in a pine tree nearby pestering our resident nesting owl’s mate. The male owl hangs out on the house side of our yard to keep the crows focused on him while the female owl is busy with the hatchlings in the nest on the far side of the yard. One of the crows dropped down low and started squawking back at Lord Byron.  It’s quite funny to listen to the back and forth.

It should be understood that the crow’s beef with the owls goes far deeper than their historic species rivalry. The tree in which the owls are now nesting used to hold a giant crow’s nest at the very top.  Crows had been nesting in that pine for years, but an ice storm two years ago snapped off the top of that tree, tearing down several large branches and the huge nest.  The crows did not try to rebuild.

But this year a pair of owls built a nest about ten feet from the top (still 30 - 40 feet off the ground, these are some tall pines) and the crows are tireless in their harassment.  I don’t think they’re happy to lose their familial nesting site to a pair of owls.

Lord Byron is annoyed by the whole lot of them, owl and crow alike.

Update:  We learned from a neighbor that the likely cause of Friday’s ruckus was the baby owl.  It left the nest earlier this week and has been seen flying through the trees behind our home with both its parents.  I’ve yet to see the fledgeling, but I’ll keep an eye open for it this week.