Friends - I've been intrigued with several situations the last week and
wonder if anyone has any experience or thoughts on them.

1. One of our domestic ducks, about a 2 lb. khaki/blue Swede cross, was
accidentally left out of the night pen last week. About 5:45 am the next
morning, as I was leaving for work, I saw something sort of "shiver" near
the duck pen, about 8 feet from me, but across a fence so I couldn't walk to
it. I went back into the house and got a flashlight, and found myself
looking at a barred owl straddling the duck carcass. I watched it for a few
minutes and it did a couple of little lunges with the carcass, and I became
convinced it must be tangled or something, so I went back to the house to
get leather gloves, thinking I might need to assist it. When I returned, it
was gone, the carcass remained and the flesh of the head and neck had been
eaten, and around the crop area. I left the carcass for it in case it came
back.

That evening, no more of the carcass had been eaten and I again left it,
mostly out of laziness on a very cold night. The next morning, the carcass
was in the same place, but the breast was now eaten.

Questions:

I was surprised that a barred owl would kill such a large duck. Should I be?
Is it typical for a barred to return to a larger kill to eat more at a later
time?

2. Saturday morning I was with a group looking at a riparian restoration
project next to the Maxwelton Creek on Whidbey Island. We walked a loop
trail through wet meadow, which was quite frozen. Half way down the trail,
we came upon a dead shrew in the middle of the trail. I looked at it, though
not real closely, and it looked like there might have been a bit of blood on
its snout, but that was it. About 50 feet further on the trail, we found
another dead shrew. A 3rd was found about another 50 feet, and a 4th about
50 feet further on. The 4th shrew showed blood in the middle top of its
head. I was with a group and kept going, but now regret that I didn't
collect them and look more closely. Not only was I surprised to find 4, but
the fact they were spaced equidistance was striking. Thoughts?

Thanks.

Sego Jackson
Whidbey Island
pond at whidbey.com