At just over 3 weeks old, Long-eared Owl chicks leave the nest-even though they can’t fly yet! Their flight feathers are still growing, so they spend their days hiding in the branches, camouflaged and quiet… unless danger comes close.
To scare off predators, these little owlets hiss, bill- clack, spread their wings, and even rock back and forth to look bigger and more threatening. Meanwhile, their parents swoop in, barking and faking injuries (yes, really!) to distract and draw predators away from their young.
Nature is wild-and brilliant.
That does make them look huge!
It is pretty impressive in person. They swell up like when a cat gets mad and they hiss and spit the same. But they also click their beak much louder than you might expect. This is just a medium-sized owl but it is still big enough to really make you think twice about touching them. For most animals, I’m sure it is quite scary.
“Look at my turkey impression!”
It is impressive that the turkey is so much bigger, yet the owl is so much scarier. 😄
That’s a muppet.
You caught me! 😉
Not sure if this would make having relations with a chicken more or less awkward…
