Great Horned Owls Don’t Always Win

Screenshot of great horned owl about to attack male bald eagle, 2 March 2021, 23:38 (from Pixcams video below)

5 March 2021

If you follow the Hays bald eagle family you know the female is incubating three eggs while her mate guards her overnight. The male has good cause to stay close. A great horned owl has been harassing them!

Almost two weeks ago, on Sunday 21 Feb 2021 at 9:26pm, a great horned owl knocked the male bald eagle off the “woods perch.”

Things seemed to calm down for a week. Then on the night of Tuesday 2 March 2021 the great horned owl came back twice.

The Hays bald eagles are probably feeling murderous about that owl right now so I’m sure they’ll like this trail cam video from Washington state in which a great horned owl is attacked by three species in a row!

Great horned owls may be everyone’s enemy but they don’t always win.

(screenshot from Pixcams video; click on the caption to see the original)

5 thoughts on “Great Horned Owls Don’t Always Win

  1. Ever since I saw the original attack I’ve been worried about the three eggs. Nature’s window but I can’t help rooting for the eagles. I made the mistake of watching several youtube videos on other great horned owl attacks…they do seem to win more often. Hope not this time.

    1. Mark, I don’t know what the owl is thinking but I have a guess. My guess is that the owl sees the bald eagles as a threat to its own nest and is hitting the eagle that looks most ready to fly (i.e. fly toward the owl nest).

  2. That makes sense. I’ve read that great horned owls are early nesters like bald eagles, with eggs hatching in early March, and are fierce defenders of the owlets.

  3. I didn’t know whether this owl has a nest or a mate or is solitary. In the event he has a nest, which is unlikely without a mate, he had better spend some time in a cave because Dad Eagle has been casing his territory and he’s not looking for game, because that’s in the river.

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