A fearsome predator is breeding in San Francisco’s Presidio, and officials are warning people not to approach the animals.
The Great Horned Owl stands about two feet tall, with wingspans of up to five feet, the brown and white bird with piercing yellow eyes is powerful enough to carry off a Red Shouldered Hawk or a large rodents. (They are one of the few birds that regularly feed on skunks.)
The Presidio is home to at least four owl couples that are now mating – and they are highly protective of their young. Peter Erlich, the Presdio’s forester, said maintenance crews are taking care not to disturb the very territorial birds, which have been known to attack humans that get too near their young. “They are often called the tiger of the night,” he said.
The owls begin courting in the fall and by mid-February the females begin laying eggs in nests commandeered from ravens and crows. The babies hatch in mid-March. Because the parents so fiercely defend their young, he says, “People are advised to avoid any young owls walking along the ground.”
The Great Horned Owls are among some 7,301 birds representing 111 different species tallied in this year’s avian census at the Presidio, including 12 Red-shouldered hawks and 117 tiny song birds called Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
The owls are crepuscular, meaning they feed at dawn and dusk. And that’s when birdwatchers will most often hear the male’s distinctive hoot. “He’s telling other owls this is my territory, keep out,” said Erlich.