Wednesday 9 January 2013

A poor wee feathered body by the side of the road

Hubby went out to fetch the paper. He spotted a wee grey thing by the side of the road. It was a wee owl. We were worried it might have been the Great Horned Owl we saw in her nest with her babes across the highway last year.

This one was a Barred Owl I've heard in the forest in the wee hours of the summer.

Barred owls in the dark night from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo. As I stood in our Muskoka Room, I was waiting for the cat to respond to my calls. Instead, I heard the Barred Owls talking to one another.
Those sleepless nights when nature sends you a friend to visit.


There is much roadkill beside our highway
I am comforted by the sounds of the forest in the night. 'Who-cooks-for-you?' | 'Who-cooks-for-you?'

As is my way, I have to honour the life of the creature. The feathers and markings are beautiful. Her talons and beak an amazing creation.

Likely no one's fault. She flies across the highway. There was some white fur in her mouth. It could have been a rabbit, as she chased it across the road.

11 comments:

Linda said...

Always sad when a creature dies that way...beautiful photos!

Rambling Woods said...

Aww..so many birds are killed or injured by cars.. I have been listening to a great horned owl pair in the back woods. I don't know if you ever do memes. But I have a small meme called 'Nature Notes' that is about..well nature. The post is up for this week if you want to see it.. and thank you for visiting my blog and commenting.. Michelle from ramblingwoods.com

Red said...

That's a pretty detailed postmortem. Yes, this guy was probably hit by a car as he was pursuing something.

Kay said...

Just looking at your photos, I thought the owl was still alive. How sad that it got hit. We don't see much roadkill here in Hawaii... surprisingly.

eileeninmd said...

It is sad to see any kind of road kill. I usually always try to slow down or even stop if I see a bird or critter on the street.

EG CameraGirl said...

Barred owls are such lovely creatures. How sad this one has met its demise.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

A very beautiful bird.

Phil Slade said...

It is always sad to find any dead bird, somehow more so for an owl and when you realise that the bird was just going about its normal business.

Rambling Woods said...

Thank you for linking up to Nature Notes..it was a pleasure to have you. I do really love raptors and am inspired by them. So sorry about this beautiful owl...but it was good for people to get a look at it..Michelle

Linda said...

Such a sad way for a beautiful bird to end its life. I'm so glad you moved it from the side of the road to another spot.

Misty said...

Owls are such mystical creatures; I love how they look. Even though I was reading your words I still didn't realize right away this lovely creature was dead. So sad it was killed.