Column: What you need to know about Salem’s nesting owls – Salem Reporter

The map with an X below shows the locations of three known attacks.

If these are great horned owl attacks, there may be a pair of nesting owls nearby. There are good open spaces for hunting nearby: to the north is the small Pringle Creek City Park. To the south is Bushs Pasture Park, which covers more than 90 acres, and the adjacent Deepwood Gardens.

Larger owls will eat many rats, including those made sick by man-made poisons. d-CON and other chemical rodenticides will also kill any owl (or other predator) that spots a victim, dead or alive. A few years ago, when we lived in San Francisco, the city decided to eliminate a large population of rats in Golden Gate Park. They used poison and killed all the great horned owls. It would be fifteen years before the owls moved back to the park. The rats had been back long before that, moving in from nearby residential and commercial areas with large amounts of restaurant waste.

Animals that great owls prey on include: squirrels, rabbits, any unwary bird that is not hidden by vegetation or in a burrow. More likely are nocturnal targets: smaller owls, opossums, raccoons, skunks, mice and rats. This brings us to the problem of mouse control.

Both the male and female now search for their own food at night. Once the first egg is laid, the female must remain on or near the nest. She needs to keep the eggs warm and protect them. Now the male is looking for himself and a mate. This could begin as early as January. He now needs to double his kill count. Windy or stormy nights can make hunting difficult. This may force him to hunt at dawn or dusk.

Once all eggs (usually 2 to 4) have been laid, the female must incubate them for another 4-5 weeks. Once they begin to hatch, the young need feeding, and the father must bring more food to the nest. Both parents will begin feeding the chick once the female feels comfortable leaving it alone, usually a few weeks after hatching and when the chick is fully feathered. So come spring, Leslie Street and its adjacent open spaces may have great horned owls hunting.

If you are around during darkness, wear a hat or bandana. Or hold an open umbrella above your head.

Learn more about great horned owl nesting here.

For information about upcoming Salem Audubon programs and events, visit www.salemaudubon.org or the Salem Audubon Facebook page.

Harry Fuller is an Oregon birder and natural history author of Birding on the Highway and the new Birding of Harney County. He was a member of the Salem Audubon Society. Contact him: [email protected] or atowheeblog. His “Some Fascinating Things About Birds” column appears regularly in the Salem Reporter.

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Harry Fuller is an Oregon birder and natural history writer who has published three books: Highway Birding, Great Gray Owls of California, Oregon, and Washington, and A Natural History of San Francisco—From Dunes to Trams. He leads birding tours at Malheur Field Station. He is a member of the Salem Audubon Society and leads local birding tours. Harry has just published a new book, BIrding Harney County.