The other morning I heard a big hullabaloo in the tree right outside my verandah. It was barely 7 am. Normally the crows are not so raucous and don't gather together so early. Also, a couple of Rufus treepies were screeching away, not their normal whistles.
So I went out to see. The crows were all together on the tree just next to the house. At first I thought it was an injured pigeon the crows were harassing. But when I looked closely it was an owl. It looked a light grey in colour and was fairly big. I chased the crows away and there the owl sat looking down at me and gulping away. We looked at each other for a long moment. I went inside to get my phone, thinking I would photograph the owl. Sadly, as soon as I pointed the phone, the owl flew away. At first it looked like one of it's wings was not quite ok. But once it had taken wing the owl righted itself, flying to the trees at a distance from the house. soon after, there was a flash of smaller grey flying after it. This made me wonder if it had been a mother owl with her owlet, which the crows had chased. Seeing the owl at that time of the morning and hearing the protesting cries of the crows, must have frightened the treepies. Hence all the noise.
Anyway, the owl seemed grateful for the help in getting rid of her harassers. The look that passed between us will stay with me a long time.
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