Barn Owl – Combat!

 Barn Owl, Birds  No Responses »
Mar 292012
 
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Theresa Allen observed a Barn Owl pursued by an American Crow as the two bird flew through her yard on Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Barn Owl was being attacked by the American Crow which was engaged in the typical crow behavior of mobbing and driving off birds of prey. The pair flew in low over Theresa’s yard (within just a few feet/meters of Theresa) as the frantic owl desperately tried to evade the marauding crow. On one occasion, the crow impacted the Barn Owl causing the owl to lose feathers. Theresa was later able to recover and photograph these feathers.

NOTE: This interesting observation was originally reported as a Snowy Owl sighting and as such it generated a great deal of excitement. Snowy Owls usually reside in the far north of Canada and Alaska, but for some reason in the late winter of 2012 a number of Snowy Owls moved south into the lower 48 states. This was a remarkable and rare occurrence. There have been at least two confirmed Snowy Owl sightings in the Dallas area. One near Lake Ray Hubbard and another in downtown Dallas. There had been a third, but unconfirmed, Snowy Owl sighting in Forth Worth in the same general area as this Barn Owl sighting. Hopes were high.

Its not hard to imagine mistaking the lightly colored Barn Owl for a Snowy Owl, especially if all you get is a fleeting glimpse. As it turned out the collected feathers made it clear beyond a doubt that it was a Barn Owl that was seen in this case.

 
County - Tarrant
City - Fort Worth
Date - Mar 24, 2012
Time of Day - Afternoon
Temperature - Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Residential-Single Family
Type of Behavior - Fleeing
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Theresa Allen
Main Article - Barn Owl Observation Location

American Crow – Afternoon Rounds

 American Crow, Birds  No Responses »
Mar 162012
 
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A small group American Crows made their way through our neighborhood on this afternoon. They stopped briefly in a park where they vocalized loudly from high in the trees.

 
County - Denton
City - Carrollton
Date - Feb 13, 2012
Time of Day - Afternoon
Temperature - Cold (less than 50°F/10°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Recreation-Park
Type of Behavior - Roaming, Vocalizing
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Mixed
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - American Crow Observation Location

Red-tailed Hawk – Mobbed by Crows

 Birds, Red-tailed Hawk  No Responses »
Dec 092011
 
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When I stepped outside this afternoon, the first thing I noticed was what sounded like a group of crows calling to each other in the distance. As I listened the cawing became louder, and I could tell that the crows were coming my direction. I started watching my neighbor’s rooftops, expecting the birds to come from a nearby greenbelt, but even though the sound of the birds continued to grow louder the crows never appeared. Finally, it occurred to me to look straight up. There, high above me, were two crows harassing a lone Red-tailed Hawk.

 
County - Denton
City - Carrollton
Date - May 5, 2005
Time of Day - Afternoon
Temperature - Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C)
Weather - Overcast
Habitat - Residential-Single Family
Type of Behavior - Fleeing
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - Red-tailed Hawk Observation Location

American Crow – Mischief Makers

 American Crow, Birds  1 Response »
Dec 022011
 
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What is it about crows? They always give me the impression that they are up to some kind of mischief.

We observed these fine looking fellows midmorning near Woodlake Pond in Carrollton. They made plenty of
noise as they moved through the area. Their purpose? Just looking for mischief as far as I could tell.

 
County - Denton
City - Carrollton
Date - Nov 13, 2011
Time of Day - Midmorning
Temperature - Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Recreation-Park
Type of Behavior - Interacting, Vocalizing
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - American Crow Observation Location

American Crow – Eating a Sandwich

 American Crow, Birds  1 Response »
Nov 262011
 
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I observed this American Crow in a pasture near the intersection of Rosemeade and Marsh. The crow appeared to be eating a sandwich, which was probably pilfered from the trash of a nearby convenience store.

 
County - Denton
City - Dallas
Date - September 4, 2011
Time of Day - Afternoon
Temperature - Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Agricultural-Pasture
Type of Behavior - Feeding
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - American Crow Observation Location

American Crow – Raucous Caucus

 American Crow, Birds  No Responses »
Oct 072011
 
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We observed this boisterous group of crows early one morning at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. The crows were making a lot of noise, over an extended period of time.

Often this kind of behavior from American Crows indicates that they have discovered a bird of prey of some kind; possibly a Red-tailed Hawk or a Great Horned Owl. Crows like to “mob” birds of prey in an effort to drive them away. I’m sure this behavior has some sort of survival value, but sometimes it seems that the crows do it simply for the sport.

Today, there was no bird of prey to be seen. Its possible these crows were just making noise to be making noise!

 
County - Denton
City - Plano
Date - October 2, 2011
Time of Day - Morning
Temperature - Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Recreation-Park
Type of Behavior - Surveying
Gender - Uncertain
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - American Crow Observation Location

American Crow – A Murder at a High School

 American Crow, Birds  No Responses »
Sep 182011
 
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A group of crows is known as a murder. A murder of crows. I photographed this group of American Crows in the parking lot of Creekview High School in Carrollton. There were six crows total in this murder even though the most I photographed together were five. The sixth bird was standoffish, and remained safely away form the others.

The crows were eating acorns that had fallen to the ground under this tree.

American Crows are highly intelligent birds, and they are usually quite cautious, but in this case they allowed me to approach to with just a few yards/meters of where they were located.

 
County - Denton
City - Carrollton
Date - September 18, 2011
Time of Day - Afternoon
Temperature - Hot (greater than 89°F/32°C)
Weather - Clear
Habitat - Community-Church/School/Civic
Type of Behavior - Congregating, Feeding
Gender - Mixed
Maturity - Adult
Observer - Chris Jackson
Main Article - American Crow Observation Location
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