Most people would be surprised at the population of owls in their area because they never see them. I have heard that a great horned owl will kill and eat a skunk, that is something I would like to see.
Cats and small dogs too!
We had barn owls in the palm trees in our tract in SoCal. Folks little FiFi dogs were known to have gone missing after being let out to go PeePee!
Of course, the coyotes that were gone for years have moved back into the area and they seem to be the primary reason for dogs and cats coming up "gone" now.
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
We don't have Barred Owls around here GC but I've heard others talk about the "who cooks for you" call..... Owls are definitely cool.....checking on my little buddy every day breaks up the monotony of empty traps....I'm hoping he/she'll stick around if I build em a house....
When I was an enterprising young lad I used to go out at night and pick worms to sell to the fishermen. We always had owls around the yard. Our area of Ohio had a lot of beech trees, which always had lots of hollow spots making great nesting cavities. We had a vapor light in the yard that came on at dusk every night, and the little screech owls worked the perimeter of the light's shadow picking off bugs. We used to sit out there in the lawn chairs and watch them coming out for the night shift.
It didn't take them long to figure out that my flashlight attracted bugs, and before long, I got buzzed for the firs time. It's a little unnerving for the first time when one of those little brown missiles comes between you and the ground picking bugs out of your light as your bent over picking worms. I must have jumped about a foot! Needless to say I set a new world's speed record running for the back door of the house. As time went on, I got used to seeing them out there. They'd land right above me in the trees and pick their spots to launch their attacks. They never struck me but sure came close a couple times.
We have screechers in the pine trees in our back yard every year now, and a pair of big owls nesting in the woods at the end of our street every late winter. I hear them calling to each other down there all the time when I'm leaving early for work. Saw a big bird soaring into the tall trees down there one morning. I think they're barn owls, but the could be some other owl, I guess.
If you're ever interested in what they might be, Cornell Univ has a cool site with sounds too (for all kinds of birds, not just owls). Poke around the owls section and listen to different ones, I bet you hear "yours".
The number of sounds a particular type of owl can make is amazing (to me anyway)
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
I'm on the edge of town here and we've had a variety of wildlife come in. Also some GHO's that I've heard in the fall, and seen them hunting at dusk. They seem to have cleaned out most all of the cottontail rabbits that were chowing down on landscaping. And a couple of lost foo-foo dog flyers have shown up in the neighborhood, too
The European Eagle Owl, FWIW, sounds like a person saying the word, "who". I was at an exhibit of rescued birds once, looking at a couple of falcons, when I kept hearing the word "who" I turned around wondering who was talking, and there was no one there. I finally look down, and at the floor was the owl - who looked right at me and again said "who" like a person. I don't know if that is natural or learned behavior. He'd been illegally imported as a pet and was found and confiscated by the USDA.
I think that you slipped an extra "vowl" into the title. Years ago, I was sitting in a tree stand when a great big owl came silently twisting his way through the trees. I sat, fascinated, watching him approach until it became apparent that he was going to land on me. I moved a little and he banked away with the slightest movement of his wings.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
they might be closer than you think. Barred owls are expanding their range across the northern tier of the US. Big problem with them displacing their Spotted Owl cousins (same genus, different species) in the PNW.
Check here, if it doesn't come through as zoomed in like I did it, you can always zoom right into your location to see if there's any near you. I see some around Moscow, and down around Kendrick, Clarkston/Lewiston and such.
Keep your ears open, you may hear one someday while out on your line. (listen to the call and try to imitate it, they respond, sometimes easily)
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
When I was an enterprising young lad I used to go out at night and pick worms to sell to the fishermen. We always had owls around the yard. Our area of Ohio had a lot of beech trees, which always had lots of hollow spots making great nesting cavities. We had a vapor light in the yard that came on at dusk every night, and the little screech owls worked the perimeter of the light's shadow picking off bugs. We used to sit out there in the lawn chairs and watch them coming out for the night shift.
It didn't take them long to figure out that my flashlight attracted bugs, and before long, I got buzzed for the firs time. It's a little unnerving for the first time when one of those little brown missiles comes between you and the ground picking bugs out of your light as your bent over picking worms. I must have jumped about a foot! Needless to say I set a new world's speed record running for the back door of the house. As time went on, I got used to seeing them out there. They'd land right above me in the trees and pick their spots to launch their attacks. They never struck me but sure came close a couple times.
We have screechers in the pine trees in our back yard every year now, and a pair of big owls nesting in the woods at the end of our street every late winter. I hear them calling to each other down there all the time when I'm leaving early for work. Saw a big bird soaring into the tall trees down there one morning. I think they're barn owls, but the could be some other owl, I guess.
If you're ever interested in what they might be, Cornell Univ has a cool site with sounds too (for all kinds of birds, not just owls). Poke around the owls section and listen to different ones, I bet you hear "yours".
The number of sounds a particular type of owl can make is amazing (to me anyway)
I'll check that site out tomorrow....thanks Geno....
We have lots of Eagles and Hawks around here too.....I even bought a book to identify the Hawks but it's pretty hard to figure out when they're in flight....fun to watch with bino's though.....
When I lived in the San Diego area (pre - 1991) we had quite a few out at the edges of the "burbs'. As development spread further they are slowly disappearing.
They are cool birds, glad you still get to see some.
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
Cool pictures Charlie. Owls are interesting birds for sure. I hope your owl sticks around.
Concerning owls, I saw something a month or so back when I was coyote hunting that was interesting to me. About a quarter mile away I could see a 12 to 15 birds just kind of circling around about 150 feet off the ground. At first I figured they must be ravens, but as I walked closer I got a good look and they were all owls. From looking in a bird book, they resembled a Barn Owl the most, but they were lighter in color, more light grayish to white. They were about the size of a redtail hawk or raven.
First and only time I've ever seen a flock of owls.
Opening day of deer season...... I was sitting on a log just after dawn watching the squirrels run around. Out of G'damn nowhere the biggest owl I have ever seen just jacks a squirrel about 10 yards from me. Hell with an eagle on TV catching a fish that owl OWNED that squirrel. One of the coolest things i have ever bared witness too. I'll never forget the sound of his wings and the squirrels death cry. Nature is a bitch when your low on the food chain...
Certainly a saw-whet owl, the nighttime call of these things is one of my favorite bird sounds...
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
Opening day of deer season...... I was sitting on a log just after dawn watching the squirrels run around. Out of G'damn nowhere the biggest owl I have ever seen just jacks a squirrel about 10 yards from me. Hell with an eagle on TV catching a fish that owl OWNED that squirrel. One of the coolest things i have ever bared witness too. I'll never forget the sound of his wings and the squirrels death cry. Nature is a bitch when your low on the food chain...
For all the hoopla hawks and such get in the woods, nothing shuts up songbirds and rodents quicker than an owl on a low roost.
To the OP, it's hard to tell cause it's not a super clear pic, but that really looks like a saw-whet owl. The broad stripes down the breast are distinctive. Screech owls all have a lot of horizontal barring going on the their breast.
Saw whets are a lot less common, I'd be pumped to see one. They are known to be naturally very tame,
Great Horned Owls will eat skunks, they don't have much of an olfactory sense and the stink doesn't bother them. They snatch house cats and fluffy little dogs around town also. I once saw a Great Horned snatch a duck off a small lake. Started checking on that and found they are serious waterfowl predators. I think I once found where an owl killed a turkey off the roost. I found the kill in the big timber with a good snow on the ground. There were no turkey tracks and no predator tracks in the snow, but what looked like wing marks sweeping the snow and a mangled up hen turkey carcass.
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
Creek bottom here is full of barred owls. They can be noisy cusses!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Around here we have mostly great horned owls, we can hear them most nights, and an occasional great grey. Barn owls move in but every few years it's too cold and they freeze to death. The great horned owls will take down crows, raptors, cats, dogs and pretty much whatever they can get a hold of. An ornithologist at work has documented great horned owls taking down eagles. They're just badass.
