Very interesting! Just curious, do you think the owls are pouncing them in the very shallow areas, or waiting for them to crawl out on shore first? Any area where you think the owls hunt frequently enough to put a game camera out? It would be super neat to see how they catch a crawdad for supper! As always, thanks for the report. Here's hoping for a great summer pond season!
I caught an owl at the bank the other day which is odd because when I have seen them at the pond they are always in the cedar trees. This time it was merely a few feet from the shore on the ground at about an hour before dark. I presume that it was waiting for a crawdad to make itself known in the water and then would snatch it out. The only times that I have seen the Northern Virile crawdads out of the water was after a major rain event and there was some kind of exodus going on as they were everywhere. I spent the evening picking them up out of the shop which is 150 feet from any water source (pond or creek).
My game camera went south this last year, but if I get another I will put it on the dock to watch the pond.
