I was birding in the Everglades some years ago, when I encountered my first Barred Owl. On seeing this bird it reminded me of an article I read once which had been sent to me by an American friend, it was about a man who wanted to take pictures of Barred Owls in the nesting season and I had to do a double take on the date just to make sure it was not April the first.It seems that this enthusiastic bird photographer decided that he wanted to take a photo of this owl during the nesting season, so off he set with camera, binoculars and a tape recorder.
He found himself a Barred Owl which was nesting very close to a broad walk, he got his camera ready and in order to get a good photo he wanted to draw the owl closer by playing a tape recording of the owl. As a result of playing the tape the owl attacked him, he then decided he would sue the National Park for allowing a wild bird to nest to close to a public broad walk.
I have trapped and ringed owls in the wild and in my mind this guy was in the wrong, if you go playing a tape of another owl in an already established territory, especially when they have young, you are going to be attacked because they will see you as another owl intruding on them. The best bit was his complaint was upheld.
Photo: Barred Owl by Wayne Willison check out his great pictures on his site www.imaginetheeverglades.com
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