An owl swooped down from a nearby tree and helped itself to this man's bluegill.
We don't often see owls during the daylight hours, but it's not all that unheard of. As much as any carnivore, owls are creatures that will feed upon opportunity when it presents itself.
It's just that we haven't seen too many of them take a bluegill right out of a fisherman's hand.
Luckily for us, this man and his woman friend and fishing partner had already spotted the bird in a nearby tree and were just about ready to catch it on video when it launched the first time. While they only got a glimpse of the bird at first, it landed on another tree where it could be seen awaiting its next opportunity, which it was happy to take.
Amazingly, the man picks up the fish, dangles it in his hand, and entices the beautiful bird to try again.
What happens next is maybe the first time that we've ever seen this:
It's not entirely certain where the video was taken. It looks like a barred owl, which is a species known to inhabit a range of states, and it was obviously hungry!
Barred owls live mostly along the eastern part of the U.S. and Canada, usually inhabiting deciduous forests. Range expansions have them living as far south as the Carolinas and even further.
These amazing predators will eat small mammals, amphibians, other birds, and yes, fish. Since they like to attack from a perched position, it's easy to see why this bird was happy to sit and wait a bit for the next attack; just be glad that it wasn't your fingers that the owl nabbed!
What do you think, was that a barred owl or another, different species of owl?
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NEXT: GREAT SAVE! GREAT HORNED OWL RESCUED FROM FISHING LINE AT TEXAS GOLF COURSE
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