Two barred owls hold daily jousts for control of indoor territory

It’s a real switch for him … but, he seems happy to be on the inside looking out instead of on the outside looking in.

Week before last, many of you read about the barred owl who had been mooning and moping just outside the window where Bert … our recuperating resident barred owl … perches. Punchy … so named because he appeared a little punchdrunk from repeated smacks against the windowpanes … would cling to the same tree branch for as long as 10 to 12 hours … come snow, rain or bitter winds. It made us shiver to watch the wind turn his feathers inside out … or the chilling rains flatten his plumage until he resembled a sad wet hen. He was too unruffled … for a wild owl … when we came close to his perching tree. He’d sit staring down at us through half-closed eyes … then, doze off. When he did take flight, he couldn’t seem to gain owl altitude and his wing beats were rather labored. Although there’s an abundance of owl prey on the premises, the only thing we ever saw Punchy zap was the hawk who had just caught a blue jay. He made several passes over the backs of startled red squirrels, but always wobbled off with empty talons. There was no question … he had problems which were being compounded by a period of foul weather.

When Punchy showed signs of increasing weakness, we decided he was in need of human help. Twice, I easily slipped a long handled fish net over his head and, twice, he slipped out before I could slide the net between the tree branches. Then, early one frigid morning, I scooped him off the branch of white birch and brought him indoors.

Free of the net, Punchy rearranged his rumpled feathers and surveyed his warm surroundings … his big brown eyes finally coming to rest on Bert … who couldn’t believe his own big brown eyes as he sighted the intruder. That’s exactly what he considered Punchy to be … an intruder on his private territory. Instead of flying into each other’s wings like a pair of long-lost lovers, they squared off and began yowling like a pair of warring tomcats! Bert … smaller than Punchy and at a disadvantage … wingwise … thoroughly trounced the newcomer. Punchy, jolted by the attacks, began bouncing off windows until … for his safety and that of the window … he was stashed in a large parrot cage … complete with roost, fresh water, small smelts and strips of lean cubed steak.

After the jarring experience of being netted, dumped in strange surroundings and unceremoniously attacked by Bert … we expected Punchy to be too upset to eat … but he ravenously grabbed the strips of steak and the smelts from the cage bars … gulping them down in record time. While he was packing the food away, I slipped my fingers among his breast feathers and felt the sharp outline of the sternum … which is usually an indication of malnutrition.

When threatened, owls unfold their wings and spread them above their heads. As soon as Punchy had refueled and rested, he began spreading his wings each time anyone approached him … and, that’s when we noticed the six-inch gap of missing flight feathers on his right wing. The tip of the wing is also rather tattered. The feathers may have been broken among tree branches or when he dived beneath a wooden bench where red squirrels seek protection.

After Punchy regained his strength and bearings, he began fighting the cage. Fearing he might damage his feathers even more, I opened the cage door so he’d be free to hop out. It was the beginning of some wild encounters between him and Bert! He flies onto Bert’s roomy roost where the two big-eyed birds freeze as they attempt to stare each other down. Then the yowling starts … low and softly … winding up to high-pitched howls which actually sound like those of fighting tomcats. Bert knocks Punchy off the roost … Punchy returns to knock Bert off … and so they go until forced to take time off for dozing.

Late yesterday afternoon, I came in to find Punchy laid out flat on the sofa … as sound asleep as an owl could ever be … while Bert slumped on his perch with one eye closed. Of course, Punchy was routed off the sofa and onto the newspapered area where his roost sets … and where he’ll be hooting it up until he has fully regained his strength and plumage. That means, he’ll be released in a much warmer outside world. In other words, Punchy will be “sprung” when spring has sprung.