From John Henson
An Eastern Screech Owl trying to clock in for the evening shift got an immediate challenge from a feisty Red bellied woodpecker. 😅
That first frame was pure luck and timing, the perfect wing span made it look like the woodpecker was throwing a flying tackle. The owl’s reactions in the following shots made the sequence even better!
Although the images look bright, this all happened just minutes before sunset. Mom was getting ready to head out and hunt for the babies, but the local neighborhood watch Blue Jays and this Red bellied Woodpecker were already waiting for her to make an appearance.
Subject: Eastern Screech Owl X Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Gear: NikonUSA
Software: Affinity
Instagram: John Henson T.
Just made me realize, how often camouflaged animals must get accidentally harassed because no one saw them there. The Great Potoo looks totally perchable, and perches places anybird would consider a great perching position.
Many have alternative means of defense, as long as they aren’t totally blindsided like our owl friend was here.
In addition to superb camo, owls can puff up huge like cats and they have hisses, beak clicks, and other startling noises, as well as the ability to fly away. Potoo works much the same.
We talked about a few methods of defense yesterday in the deimatic and aposematic defense post yesterday. One cool defense Burrowing owls have when hidden in their burrows is to make a rattlesnake sound if someone is poking around their doorway.
That said, I had plenty of incidents and near misses with some toads, snakes, and many invertebrate friends. Sometimes camo backfires😧
