Wildscapes Field Note

The Owl Above
the Stream

A quiet morning beside a forest stream at Anshi changed suddenly when a group of crows forced a Brown Fish Owl out of the trees.

Anshi, Karnataka 11 March 2017 By Parag Kokane

The forest stream at Anshi where we had stopped simply to sit, watch and listen to the surrounding forest. Photograph by Parag Kokane.

We had gone down to the stream without looking for anything in particular.

Early one morning at Anshi, Makarand Ketkar, Deva Ghanekar, Varun Lale and I walked down towards the riverside and a small forest stream. We were casually looking for birds, snakes or whatever other wildlife we might come across.

At one spot, all four of us sat down close to the water.

There was no particular plan after that. We were simply watching the colours and reflections on the stream, listening to the forest and enjoying the quiet of the morning.

The water was dark beneath the canopy, with fallen leaves, exposed roots and patches of sunlight breaking through the trees. Fish could be seen moving below the surface.

Dark reflections, submerged leaves and fish moving beneath the water were part of the quiet scene that morning. Photograph by Parag Kokane.

When the Forest Suddenly Became Noisy

Then the quiet was broken by the calls of several crows.

Their calls were persistent and concentrated in one part of the dense trees nearby. Within moments it became clear that they were mobbing something hidden inside the foliage.

At first, we could not see what they were after.

The crows kept calling and moving around the same patch of forest, repeatedly harassing whatever was concealed there.

Eventually, a large bird emerged from the dense cover.

It was a Brown Fish Owl.

The owl flew out towards the river and landed on an exposed branch almost directly in front of us.

The moment was completely unexpected. The owl had probably not realised that four people were already sitting quietly beside the stream.

We were all facing different directions, watching different parts of the forest, and I happened to be the only one carrying a camera.

I quietly tried to tell the others that an owl had landed in front of us.

Nobody believed me.

I did not want to speak loudly because the bird was quite close, so I slowly raised the camera and began taking photographs.

The Brown Fish Owl after the crows had pushed it out of dense cover. It landed unexpectedly on an exposed perch close to where we were sitting. Photograph by Parag Kokane.

I managed to take only three or four photographs.

The sound of the camera shutter finally made the others realise that I was actually photographing something.

They turned towards me, followed the direction of the lens and only then saw the owl sitting there.

For a short while it remained on the perch, broad-headed and watchful, its yellow eyes standing out against the brown plumage.

Then it pushed away from the branch, glided low above the water and disappeared back into the deeper forest.

Fallen leaves, stones and reflections beneath the shaded stream. Moments later, the Brown Fish Owl glided over this water and disappeared into the forest. Photograph by Parag Kokane.

Natural History

When Crows Find an Owl

Crows and many other birds often react strongly when they discover an owl or another potential predator resting nearby.

They may gather around it, call repeatedly and make close approaches. This behaviour is known as mobbing and can eventually force the predator to leave its concealed perch.

That appears to be what happened during this observation. The Brown Fish Owl had been hidden inside dense vegetation and became visible to us only after repeated harassment by the crows pushed it out into the open.

Brown Fish Owls are associated with wooded areas around rivers, streams and other water bodies. Their diet can include fish, frogs, crabs and other aquatic or waterside prey.

We did not see this individual feeding, but the setting itself was typical of the kind of habitat in which the species can occur: a shaded forest stream with trees overlooking water and aquatic life below.

Field Record

Location Anshi, Karnataka

Date 11 March 2017

Time Early morning

Habitat Shaded forest stream and riverside woodland

Observation Brown Fish Owl mobbed by crows

Field Companions Makarand Ketkar, Deva Ghanekar and Varun Lale