Turtle On The Menu For First Time At Barred Owl Nest

In a surprising meal delivery, the male Barred Owl dropped off a juvenile turtle for an afternoon snack at the nest box on April 20. Barred Owls are opportunistic predators that eat a wide variety of amphibians and reptiles. At this nest site in Indiana, we’ve seen the owls eat snakes, frogs, and salamanders—but this is the first turtle we’ve seen delivered in more than a dozen years of streaming live on the Wild Birds Unlimited Barred Owl Cam!

In this clip, the female has a tough time swallowing the turtle. (And she doesn’t seem to even consider feeding it to her chicks.) Eventually, she sets it aside, keeping it under wraps until she’s ready for another try.