Barn Owl under siege near the dunes of Sossusvlei

After spending an exciting morning, exploring the dunes of Sossusvlei as part of an Andersson’s Expedition in Namibia, my guests were just starting to relax, when our attention were captured by a whirl of pale and brown feathers in the sky ahead of us. It turned out to be a Barn Owl, subjected to an aerial attack by a pair of Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks. The owl was clearly out of his depth, its eyes narrowed to slits, probably blinded by the bright desert sun. Blood was oozing from wounds visible above the owl’s tail feathers on his back, and he was retreating into a spiny desert bush - Acanthosicyos horridus, where he first perched and then slowly wedged himself deeper into the bush. The goshawks retreated, leaving us to guess about the events which might have led up to the attack. Pellets of Barn Owls which had been examined, had often revealed that a part of their diet is made up from small birds - “Birds of Africa” by Chris & Tilde Stuart. Could it have been that this owl had been waiting till after sunrise for the Goshawks to leave their roost, so it could raid the nest, when it was discovered? Or was this owl the prey, maybe disturbed from its shelter earlier that morning and found an easy target, flying around half-blinded by daylight? According to “Robert’s Birds of Southern Africa”, goshawks had been observed attacking Guinea fowl, Francolin and even owls. Only the desert knew the answers to our questions, but we were relieved to know that, at least for the present, the injured owl was safe…

Posted: Namibia Expeditions by Jeremia Mwapopi, Date: 26 May 2007