Posted on 02/14/2013 5:56:01 AM PST by BerryDingle
Whenever birds fly in front of moving vehicles, usually the bird is the one that loses. But a great horned owl can teach other birds a thing about surviving those situations.
Sonji Coney-Williams was driving Feb. 7 on Florida's Turnpike through Yeehaw Junction when she saw something fly in front of her SUV and heard a smack, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
She continued driving for 150 miles to Plantation, not thinking about the incident, until the next day when someone told her she had a bird trapped in the grill of the sport utility vehicle.
She called the FWC, and Officer Lex Corteguera was dispatched and removed the grill of the SUV to rescue the owl.
Corteguera took the owl, which was alert and responsive, to the South Florida Wildlife Center of the Humane Society in Fort Lauderdale, the commission said.
X-rays did not find any fractures, head trauma or internal injuries. The owl received fluids and pain medications from the veterinary staff.
Veterinarians will re-evaluate the bird Friday. If cleared, the owl will be returned to the Yeehaw Junction area, the commission said.
A great horned owl survived a highway-speed collision with an SUV and rode 150 miles trapped in the vehicle's grille before being discovered the next day. The owl was treated and will soon be released.
Border jumpers have been doing this for years..
...until the next day when someone told her she had a bird trapped in the grill of the sport utility vehicle.
150 miles - that’s about 2 hours at normal highway speeds.
Side note - I don’t think a border jumper would fit under the hood of either of my vehicles any more, unless the engine was removed. Pretty crazy how we’ve progressed in terms of vehicles in that regard.
Did the SUV strike the owl with his left or right hand?
(or did the driver hit the bird with his vehicle?)
I saw that vid, that was the coolest vid!
Seems like owls ain’t in any hurry to blink, though.
When I was a kid, we lived on a farm with a monster barn. Couple times a year I’d be outside like 11 at night during the summer and there was an owl that would perch on top of the barn.
As best I could tell, and this was at night, it was pure white and over two feet tall standing up.
Not sure what kind of owl, but it was upstate NY, so owl-ologists might know!
Great photo. He’s got that “what has been seen...” look in his eyes.
The large white owl on top of the barn is in fact the common barn owl. Farmers who appreciate its rodent catching ability call it the `flying cat’.
Briscoe Darling’s Hoot Owl Pie
1 Good sized cooked hoot owl, boned and chopped
1 Stalk celery, diced
1 Onion, chopped
1 tb Oil
10 oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
1 c Sour cream
10 1/2 oz Can cream of hoot owl soup
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm tortillas
1 1/2 c Hoot owl broth
1 c Grated rat cheese
Mix the chopped owl, celery, onion, oil, cooked broccoli, sour cream, hoot owl soup, salt, and pepper together. Then you let them sit while you and the boys play “Never beat your Mother with a Great Big Stick.” Be sure you don’t play more than 6 choruses. Roll all of this stuff into the warm tortillas and place them in a baking dish. Then pour the hoot owl broth over them. You cook all of this stuff in a 325F oven for 20 minutes, or 3 choruses of “Dirty Me, Dirty Me, Oh How I Hate Myself.” Make sure the onions are done. Then the last 5 minutes of cooking, place the grated rat cheese on top. Dish out the warm tortillas and hot sauce. Now then, if the moon is in the “getgone” and the wind blows in snuffs, there ain’t goin’ to be no hoot owls. In that case, you get Ernest T. Bass to steal you a good sized chicken and ya put that in instead. If you do that, while the chicken is cookin’ you get the boys and play 6 choruses of “Don’t Dance on the Table Charlene You Stepped in My Collard Greens.” Serves 6.
Submitted by: Denver Pyle - cast member, Mayberry.
Origin: Aunt Bee’s Mayberry Cookbook.
Shared by: Sharon Stevens, Nov/94.
Collected by Bert Christensen
Toronto, Ontario
Not sure what kind of owl, but it was upstate NY, so owl-ologists might know!
It may have been a Barn Owl, also called a "ghost Owl" or "Spirit Owl". They hunt from high perches at night watching below. They have long legs and some white plumage.
Thanks! Sounds about right. I nominate you to be FR’s Owlologist based on your kn-owledge!
A barn owl slammed into the passenger window of my truck one evening as I was driving down a mountain road. I stopped and backed up to look for it but it was gone.
Cute clip. I was waiting for a few seconds of Pelosi staring at the end..
LMAO!
lol, that would have been perfect.
That owl looks really pizzed off.
I’ve never hit an owl but I had a large turkey run into the path of my wifes minivan while doing 80 on the thurway. On impact I saw a large puff of feathers and the turkey launched about 20 feet in the air. Left a turkey shaped indent (and some guts) on the license plate.
Everything tastes great if you smother it in cream of hoot owl soup.
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