A filmmaker has captured rare footage showing a short-eared owl ambushing a northern harrier and clobbering the hawk with a perfectly executed front kick.
Freddy Moyano was afield late Tuesday in East Wisconsin when the owl pursued the harrier and delivered what Moyano described as a “super-kick,” sending the harrier briefly tumbling.
The video, artistically edited to include sound effects and color enhancement, illustrates the intense territorial rivalry between raptors in rural woodlands, especially during nesting season when competition for food is heightened.
Moyano, a voiceover artist who publishes weekly videos featuring Wisconsin wildlife, told For The Win Outdoors that most confrontations do not involve physical contact and that he was not sure he had captured such a “rare moment” until he reviewed his footage.
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“I was 100-plus feet out,” he explained. “I saw a couple of clashes in the air but I couldn’t tell on the spot until I came home two hours later and I reviewed it. And man, that was like, what the heck? The foot of that owl is there [on the harrier] and the whole deal.”
His footage shows the clash several times, the harrier being chased, and the owl later resting atop a perch.
“I’ve been following these owls for months and there’s quite a rivalry,” Moyano said. “They compete for rodents. You see a lot of owls grabbing them in their talons and flying with them.
“And then I’ve seen harriers trying to snatch the rodents in the air from the owls, and that’s more common. It’s just rivalry over the food. But the impact like that… that’s hugely uncommon.”
Moyano was so impressed that he created an artistic rendering of the clash (posted above), which he says “sums up the video.”
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, short-eared owls prey mostly on small mammals such as mice and voles, but will attack larger mammals and even fairly large birds, such as gulls, terns, and rails.
The medium-sized owls are extremely agile and they’re active day and night during the breeding season.
Northern harriers, distinctive hawks with broad wings and long tails, typically fly low over open areas and will often hover for extended periods when they sense prey opportunities.
According to the Cornell Lab, northern harriers rely heavily on hearing to help them locate prey. Prey items are similar to those of owls, although in some areas harriers prey almost exclusively on voles.
–Images and video courtesy of Freddy Moyano/MLC Productions
