Great Horned Owl

[Moonpie]

I for one welcome our new owl overlords.

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

I really love the sound Great Horned Owls make.

Sometimes, I hear them during the late afternoon nearby.

Rabbits I love too, but they are food for a number of different predators...and they reproduce like...rabbits, so...

 

[Rhino]

I really love owls, but came to really hate them down at the ranch when one destroyed an entire flock of guineas that I also loved, and took out a number of chickens, too. It's a pity they are sooo protected. Felt kind of helpless knowing what was taking things out.

 

[mongoose]

I really love owls, but came to really hate them down at the ranch when one destroyed an entire flock of guineas that I also loved, and took out a number of chickens, too. It's a pity they are sooo protected. Felt kind of helpless knowing what was taking things out.

When owls were killing my neighbor’s kidds ( 3 each night ), the state wildlife specialist gave them a permit to kill the owls.

 

[avvidclif]

Ready for a funny? FIL (old school German in Fredericksburg) had an owl get after his chickens one evening. He rushed out as the owl got a chicken and was trying to take off. Grabbed the owl by the body and back of the head without thinking. With a pissed off owl trying to turn his head around and chew on his hand he started thinking about how to release the own w/o getting chewed up or badly clawed. Hollered for his wife to get a hammer. Walked to the back porch and shoved the owl up against a post. He told his wife to hit the owl in the head and kill it. First swing she missed and hit his hand and he didn't turn loose. The sky turned blue. Next swing she got the owl and the problem was solved.

It's still funny to think about.

 

[Southpaw]

I for one welcome our new owl overlords.

 

[mad88minute]

I saw a Barred Owl in Centerville last weekend. I was hunting deer with my son.

I don't understand valuing a rabbit over an Owl.
I'd like to see the owl in the act of catching the rabbit.

Sent from my moto e6 using Tapatalk

 

[baboon]

Ready for a funny? FIL (old school German in Fredericksburg) had an owl get after his chickens one evening. He rushed out as the owl got a chicken and was trying to take off. Grabbed the owl by the body and back of the head without thinking. With a pissed off owl trying to turn his head around and chew on his hand he started thinking about how to release the own w/o getting chewed up or badly clawed. Hollered for his wife to get a hammer. Walked to the back porch and shoved the owl up against a post. He told his wife to hit the owl in the head and kill it. First swing she missed and hit his hand and he didn't turn loose. The sky turned blue. Next swing she got the owl and the problem was solved.

It's still funny to think about.

Real shame a game warden didn't see that!

 

[cygunner]

Love owls when I see them first. Back a while I got off work and it was already dark but I had to take care of my horses. As I walked to the barn in the dark something buzzed me really close to my head and went on. It was a large owl. Luckily I didn't have to go home for a clothes change before feeding and cleaning stalls.
Owls, hawks, eagles, falcons love anything that would come and eat these damned squirrels.

 

[Rhino]

When owls were killing my neighbor’s kidds ( 3 each night ), the state wildlife specialist gave them a permit to kill the owls.

I need to know how to do this.

 

[jordanmills]

When I was stationed in Montana back in the 90's, I ran a river trapline just South of Great Falls. I had a cubby set had caught a rabbit, but all that was still in the trap were the rabbits two front legs and feet (not so lucky). Something had apparently chased the rabbit into the cubby and the rabbit hit the trap pan with both feet. Whatever caught it ripped it away from the trap, leaving just the legs. I reset the trap and had the two rabbit legs just inside the cubby to attract the critter back, that I thought was likely a coyote.

Next day, there was a 2 1/2 foot tall horned owl waiting for me, caught in the same trap. Getting that thing out of the trap while avoiding the talons and beak was pretty freaking scary! But I got it out.

That dang thing had a wingspan that had to be over 5 foot (at least it looked that big!)

The owls are a lot smaller than most people think they are. What looks like their bodies when they are perched is half legs. On the other hand, most people would measure any standing-perching bird from its head to its feet, so don't take it as me saying that your two and a half feet estimate is wrong either.

 

[jordanmills]

We set an Owl Box out in the trees in our backyard specifically to have an owl take up residence.
And a nesting pair have been in the Owl Box for about 2 weeks now. From the description, we think these are Eastern Screech Owls. The male is smaller and more grey/white. The female is larger and has more brown but with some grey and white as well.

We're glad they're here.

The rabbits are less numerous, blue jays avoid the yard like the plague and I've not seen a mouse/rat around the house since the owls moved it. I'm trying to figure out how to set up an owl-cam to keep an eye on them. They seem not to care about the wife and I. We just leave them alone. Pretty cool.

If they're on the order of eight to ten inches tall when perching, and they're DFW, they're almost certainly eastern screech owls. They'll make a long trilling coo for some time beginning an hour or two after sunset that is fairly distinctive.

 

[FireInTheWire]

When you say "bait" I assume you mean poison?

Your doing good for him with your antics. Keep it up. https://apnews.com/article/9766f9f7...everal days for,start to bleed out internally.

SMH

 

[ZX9RCAM]

When you say "bait" I assume you mean poison?

Your doing good for him with your antics. Keep it up. https://apnews.com/article/9766f9f7d9404570936b8d1168eae6af#:~:text=When rodenticide is introduced to,of owls,” Fox said.&text=“It takes several days for,start to bleed out internally.

SMH

Who is this directed to?

 

[FireInTheWire]

Who is this directed to?

OP

 

[ZX9RCAM]

OP

He states that the poison is for the rodents.
Obviously if an owl were to eat a poisoned rodent, it could be affected.
Is this what you meant?

 

[FireInTheWire]

He states that the poison is for the rodents.
Obviously if an owl were to eat a poisoned rodent, it could be affected.
Is this what you meant?

Correct. People want to get rid of rodents with poison. They don't realize the repercussion it has on things that prey on rodents.

 

[BuzzinSATX]

The owls are a lot smaller than most people think they are. What looks like their bodies when they are perched is half legs. On the other hand, most people would measure any standing-perching bird from its head to its feet, so don't take it as me saying that your two and a half feet estimate is wrong either.

Well, I didn’t measure it, so 2.5 ft may be an exaggeration. But it was a full grown horned owl. The leg hold trap had a 6-8 inch chain attached to a stake, so it was flapping away trying to take off and lifting up. It was quite a spectacle, and I wasn’t real glad to have to deal with it.

Luckily, there were two of us, and we had heavy leather gloves and a large fish net with a 4 foot handle, so we were able to pretty gently contain it, pin it to the ground, and remove the trap. We then got set, lifted the net off, and jumped back about 5 feet.

The owl popped up vertical and took off. It was flying fine...not sure the extent of the leg injury.

 

[Txhillbilly]

There is a pair of Great Horned Owl's and Red tail Hawk's that have lived around my place for many years. I set on the front porch and watch them all the time.

Almost every year there are 20 - 30 Peregrine Falcon's that hang around my place for a several days. They roost in the trees around my house. It's fascinating to watch these bird's hunt, they will fly several hundred feet up in the sky and dive almost straight down at great speeds, and take other bird's out of the sky.

I've always enjoyed seeing the raptor's around my place.

 

[jordanmills]

Well, I didn’t measure it, so 2.5 ft may be an exaggeration. But it was a full grown horned owl. The leg hold trap had a 6-8 inch chain attached to a stake, so it was flapping away trying to take off and lifting up. It was quite a spectacle, and I wasn’t real glad to have to deal with it.

Luckily, there were two of us, and we had heavy leather gloves and a large fish net with a 4 foot handle, so we were able to pretty gently contain it, pin it to the ground, and remove the trap. We then got set, lifted the net off, and jumped back about 5 feet.

The owl popped up vertical and took off. It was flying fine...not sure the extent of the leg injury.

I wasn't trying to call you out. It might well have been 2.5 ft from the feet to the top of the head. Great horned owls can get big. I was just sharing how goofy they look if you lift their skirts.