My pal Larry, a distinguished and dedicated member of the Oregon State Police, was making his rounds near Vernonia, Oregon when he came upon a suspicious individual in a striped suit sitting in the road. As would be expected, he pulled over his cruiser and got out to investigate.
As he approached, his observed subject did not move but simply sat staring directly at him. Finally getting close enough to make physical contact with the subject, Larry decided that he had to take the individual into custody for the sheer sake of safety – clearly to have a subject sitting in a road, regardless of how rural it might be, was unsafe.
Now any law enforcement professional knows that taking even a seemingly unresponsive subject into custody can be potentially dangerous. Remaining cautious and vigilant to any sudden change of attitude, Larry carefully considered the best way to pick the subject up from the road. The subject remained completely docile as Larry proceeded and looked for any sign of apparent injury.
Thus Larry, completely bare handed, picked up a fully grown Barred Owl, Strix varia, perched it on his wrist, and moved it onto a low branch in a nearby tree. He then recorded the following image, using a simple point-and-shoot digital camera, to record the identity of the subject for posterity.
Upon returning to the scene later in the day, Larry found the owl still sitting on the perch where it had been placed. Curious indeed from an owl behavior point-of-view; laudable to be sure on the part of Larry who risked the serious injury that a Barred Owl’s talons could have easily inflicted upon his hand and arm in order to ensure its safety.
Peace and good bird watching.
