Tangled Talons

The central Short-eared Owl in the image above has just seen off the Owl to the right from a prime section of rough grass fields but the Owl moving in from the left has decided that he wants this territory.

A chase evolves and the central bird immediately gains height which usually decides which bird will win most aerial confrontations but in this case the speed and determination of the lower bird overpowers the top bird and he slams both of his open talons straight into its rival body pushing it dramatically backwards in the sky.

The top bird recovers and is not going without a fight as it delivers a direct set of talons straight to the heart of its attacker who looks more than a little surprised.

With talons tangled both birds are wanting out of this dispute before sustaining any serious injury and they part company to put as much space between themselves as possible.

These disputes are quite common place in highly populated territories and I witnessed a dozen or more examples of this wonderful Owl behaviour during yesterdays shoot.

Both birds were back on the hunt within minutes of this attack but this time with plenty of space and rough grass field between them !