Ravens are very territorial. A pair perceived this barred owl as invading their territory around Lindsay Park.
They gave a warning cry but it didn’t listen, so they attacked. Badly injured, the owl was rescued by Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society and sent on to Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL) in Delta, where it took a full three months to recover, just in time to find a mate for the summer.
On the flight back to Powell River, the crew remarked what a calm passenger the owl was. But by the late afternoon, it was very alert and knew exactly where it was and wanted out.
The door was opened and it wasted no time in escaping but, unexpectedly, flew straight at the PROWLS photographer, who had to jump aside to avoid being smacked by this impatient owl. From there, it went high up into a tree and settled down to wait for dark.
Within minutes, however, the pair of ravens did a flyby and loudly told the owl to move on. It was amazing how quickly the ravens spotted the owl. The barred owl clearly understood the threat this time, drawing itself up as tall as it could in the universal bird body language of alarm.
By the next morning, the owl would be far away.
Contributed photo
