I believe that Jamie is correct. It was a coincidental sighting. Indeed, the Great Horned Owl WAS already roosting when a single grouse landed in the tree. The grouse remained in the tree for a few minutes, perhaps 6 or 8 feet from the owl. The grouse vocalized repeatedly during this time, and finally flew away.


Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
mbreece at earthlink.net
----- Original Message -----
From: J. Acker
To: 'tweeters'
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 5:58 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Great Horned Owl / Grouse


In NE Ohio where I grew up, Great Horned Owls (GHOW) frequently took ring necked pheasants as prey, their nests often having many pheasant feathers in them. I would think that Sharp tailed Grouse would also be on the menu. As mentioned earlier, GHOW are one of the few enemies of skunks. An unusual bird band return was that of a yellow rumped warbler, whose band was found in a GHOW nest or pellet (I don't remember which).



The GHOW was most likely roosting when the grouse came to feed and then rest. Why they choose to stay around is a guess, but they obviously did not view the GHOW as a threat. I would lean more towards a coincidental sighting rather than one based on a developed relationship.



J. Acker

Bainbridge Island, WA

Owler at sounddsl.com



A voice unspoken (or unwritten) is a voice unheard.

Be heard!





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