I went out to the woodshed to replenish the stack on the porch and as I was
returning with a arm load of wood I was stopped by a Barred Owl, on the
ground, feeding on a possum. I had walked right past the owl and somehow
missed it on the way to the woodshed. Sheesh. It would look at me, then
resume eating, then stop look at me, resume eating. Clearly hunger won out
over caution. It crossed my mind that I could bonk it with a piece of wood,
but of course I did no such thing. I detoured around the bird and its
breakfast, dumped the wood, then grabbed the camera only to find both owl
and possum gone and just a bloody spot in the snow. I found the possum
tracks around the bird feeder and followed them. They ended in a messed up
bit of snow and so apparently the owl tried to carry the possum but it was
only able to hop over the small salmonberry thicket while laden with possum
and had to land and eat some. I searched the immediate area including the
trees but the owl clearly found a more secluded breakfast nook.

About an hour later I discovered and started following a set of very fresh
bobcat tracks and they led to the scavenged remains of a possum. I wondered
if the cat and bird met each other over the food, or the cat just cleaned up
what the owl left behind. The bobcat apparently was watching me as I poked
around the carcass and with a loud cracking of brush, it bounded away from
not far behind me. The second time in one day I walked right past a cool
creature without seeing it.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County, WA