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Owls

Do you ever see any in your neck of the woods?

I think they're beautiful but spooky.

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by Anonymousreply 96October 7, 2021 2:21 PM

We lived in the country when I was a kid and one dusk this giant thing flew in front of the car I was driving like something out of a horror movie. Had to have a wingspan of about 8 ft. Only later did I find out what it was.

by Anonymousreply 1August 18, 2021 6:42 PM

A tiny little hoot owl lives in a nearby palm tree. One night something fairly large flew straight over my head, completely silent and all I caught was a flash of white. It was a larger owl. Creepy how little noise it made. The little hooter perches on my back fence at dusk for a bit before going off to hunt. He's a cutie.

by Anonymousreply 2August 18, 2021 6:43 PM

Barn owls are beautiful.

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by Anonymousreply 3August 18, 2021 6:45 PM

I live in a city. No.

by Anonymousreply 4August 18, 2021 6:46 PM

Cities have owls too R4.

by Anonymousreply 5August 18, 2021 6:48 PM

I love owls

by Anonymousreply 6August 18, 2021 6:48 PM

Yep. Not too long ago in my back yard, I heard all of the resident birds (crows, sparrows, etc.) making this huge squawking commotion like something out of The Birds. I looked up into the walnut tree, and then heard that classic, distinctive owl hoot right before the other birds started circling around it and trying to chase it off. It was evening, so I only saw its silhouette, but it had a tremendous wingspan.

by Anonymousreply 7August 18, 2021 6:49 PM

Yes, they wake us regularly. Owl noise comes nowhere close to mating fox noise though. Poor vixens.

by Anonymousreply 8August 18, 2021 6:49 PM

When I was very young we had gerbils. They were in a habitrail in my room. For about four days an owl was perched in a tree outside my window watching them. It was a beautiful owl. Still remember that

by Anonymousreply 9August 18, 2021 6:50 PM

The owls are not what they seem.

by Anonymousreply 10August 18, 2021 6:53 PM

They have intelligent eyes.

by Anonymousreply 11August 18, 2021 7:01 PM

We had a barred owl sit in my yard for about 30 minutes. First in a tree then on the ground where he found a tiny mouse to eat. I hear them at night, too.

A great horned owl comes and goes. One took our beloved cat Finnegan a few years ago.

by Anonymousreply 12August 18, 2021 7:03 PM

I hear owls all the time and find it very soothing except for screech owls, which are blood curdling.

My cat snuck out one night and the next morning I found her pressed up against the door and she couldn’t walk. I rushed her to the emergency vet at 5 am and they think an owl or some sort of raptor tried to get her because she had a puncture wound in her hind quarter. Poor baby made a full recovery and never once tried to get out again.

by Anonymousreply 13August 18, 2021 7:10 PM

[quote]One took our beloved cat Finnegan a few years ago.

Took him where?

by Anonymousreply 14August 18, 2021 7:11 PM

Damn, they're cute...

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by Anonymousreply 15August 18, 2021 7:14 PM

OMG I want one

by Anonymousreply 16August 18, 2021 7:16 PM

There's an owl that lives near my house, but I have not seen it yet. I just hear the hooting at night. I often find tufts of rabbit and squirrel hair or feathers, so I assume these are from its prey. The "hoot" is deep and low, so it's not a barn owl or screech owl. Probably a barred or great horned owl.

Even though I live in a densely populated suburb, the wildlife is so diverse and abundant. I could do without the coyotes, however.

by Anonymousreply 17August 18, 2021 7:19 PM

I was really surprised to learn how comparatively unintelligent they are (especially when contrasted with corvids and parrots), since the have long been considered a symbol of wisdom - and are sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. I suppose their piercing gaze actually comes off as being much more thoughtful than it actually is! They do have unbelievably sharp sense though - their eyes are like super sharp binoculars and they have extremely sensitive hearing. What's also funny is that they are actually very scrawny little things, when you see them defeathered - very little meat, all fluff!

by Anonymousreply 18August 18, 2021 7:22 PM

Yes, I can hoot back at them. About a month ago there must have been an owl orgy getting ready to start. They were in the yard and down by the creek pre-dawn hooting like banshees.

One was real close and I got my terrier to get tf back to me. They sounded big as hell.

by Anonymousreply 19August 18, 2021 7:28 PM

I grew up in very rural Canada and used to walk our small dog at dusk every night. An owl (not sure what kind) used to follow us along the road, flying from tree to tree to power pole as we walked. 100% silent as well, you only knew it was there if you looked at the right time. Sometimes it would swoop low over my head in the woods, low enough to disturb the air around my head in a way I could feel, but again utterly without sound. I knew it wanted to eat the dog but I never let her off the leash and I wasn't afraid of the owl. I actually came to expect it to be there every evening, like we were kind of buds.

by Anonymousreply 20August 18, 2021 7:30 PM

I adore them but am now obsessed /creeped out by how incredibly long their legs are are

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by Anonymousreply 21August 18, 2021 7:35 PM

I think it was a great-horned. Been meaning to look it up, but that's the sound I made talking back to it. lol It did talk back in the day!

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by Anonymousreply 22August 18, 2021 7:40 PM

Wish I had an owl. Do they get along with hawks?

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by Anonymousreply 23August 18, 2021 7:51 PM

Crows will pick a hawk and bully it with a bunch of commotion. Odd.

Another thing to google.

by Anonymousreply 24August 18, 2021 7:56 PM

Ha! A hawk tried to eat my terrier when it was a puppy.

by Anonymousreply 25August 18, 2021 7:58 PM

The Owl and the Pussycat.

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by Anonymousreply 26August 18, 2021 8:01 PM

I live in an urban area. It's like Wild Kingdom in here.

Javalina walking up the street, hanging out at freeway underpasses and in city parks. Lots of coyotes, mostly killing cats. I have some mostly eaten cat porn on my phone.

And recently, reports that an owl killed a cat in my neighborhood. And my brother called last night to say his neighbor's 45-lb dog got attacked by an owl early Tuesday morning, injuring it severely and it's in the dog hospital now. My brother has a 3 1/2 lb Yorkie and he's very concerned.

6 months ago, a large owl fell out of the sky and landed in my neighbor's yard, dead. It had a 5-ft wingspan. Our guess is it ate a rat or mouse that itself had been poisoned.

by Anonymousreply 27August 18, 2021 8:02 PM

Well shit! No sound because I'm sure there were copyright issues with the music. I'll try to find another video with sound.

Found one.

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by Anonymousreply 28August 18, 2021 8:07 PM

Where do you live R27? I'm in Houston and we have all of that and alligators. Wild pigs were actually tearing down people's fences and traipsing around their yards and I'm seeing them more and more on the side of roads.

by Anonymousreply 29August 18, 2021 8:12 PM

There was a BEAUTIFUL owl in Central Park who I used to see every day. But then she collided with some vehicle and died.

So fucked up. RIP Barry.

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by Anonymousreply 30August 18, 2021 8:17 PM

I never saw it but I could definitely hear an owl hooting regularly where I live, but now that you mention it I haven't heard it hooting for a while, I wonder what happened to it.

by Anonymousreply 31August 18, 2021 8:24 PM

Another video of the owl and cat, but first they show the friendship between an owl and a dog.

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by Anonymousreply 32August 18, 2021 8:28 PM

owls are just flying cats

by Anonymousreply 33August 18, 2021 8:28 PM

I'm going to get an owl and a cat and name them Felix and Doris.

by Anonymousreply 34August 18, 2021 8:42 PM
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by Anonymousreply 35August 18, 2021 8:57 PM

I adore owls, OP!

I live in the burbs as well but we have a wooded area nearby and a lot of old growth trees on my street.

There is a mating pair of great horned owls that you can hear calling to each other in early January about 2am.

I work second shift and the other day, I had my front door open and the male was sitting in a tree in my yard, hooting. I went out to see if I could spot him but I was unable to until he flew off.

Huge wingspan and utterly silent.

by Anonymousreply 36August 18, 2021 9:43 PM

hoot back, they will.

by Anonymousreply 37August 18, 2021 9:46 PM

I love wildlife.

by Anonymousreply 38August 18, 2021 9:56 PM

In the early 90s, I had an experience just like R1 describes, when my car was buzzed by a immense barn owl. Scared me half to death!

In 2014, I was intrigued by reports of a "terror owl" attacking people in the Dutch town of Purmerend; here is the story's denouement:

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by Anonymousreply 39August 18, 2021 10:26 PM

Absolutely love owls 🦉 . So mystical and mysterious.

by Anonymousreply 40August 18, 2021 10:27 PM

You should have warned about the sad ending, r32.

by Anonymousreply 41August 18, 2021 10:34 PM

Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but we all have to deal with loss in our own families. It sucks either way.

by Anonymousreply 42August 18, 2021 10:38 PM

I live in a pretty urban area of the UK (2 miles from Manchester City Centre), but we get lots of Owls, Hawks, Wood Pigeons and every other kind of wildlife as we have an 90 acre public park less than 100 yards away.

We also have a fairly large garden and there is an old reservoir at the other end of the avenue which has Herons nesting.

by Anonymousreply 43August 18, 2021 10:40 PM

I love owls. For a long time, I used to see a pair of barn owls flitting around over the woods back of my house. I think they bunked in my neighbor's barn during the day.

Last summer, my partner and I decided we'd take a drive to the country at night. We were heading for a road that didn't even have street lights after dark, but there was a full moon. We saw several large owls that seemed to almost float over the trees. They looked like great horned owls. It made me recall a line from a poem called "Magpies in Picardy" which says "...The owl floats by at night..." and that's exactly what those owls seemed to do.

by Anonymousreply 44August 18, 2021 10:54 PM

I love their plumage.

by Anonymousreply 45August 18, 2021 11:00 PM

I'm sure they're around, but I never see them. However, we have TONS of rabbits (insert joke about multiplying rabbits here), all kinds of deer, and lots of crows & ravens. I'd LOVE an owl outside my window, though. I love animals in general.

by Anonymousreply 46August 18, 2021 11:12 PM

I camp a lot here in Pennsyltucky and while you don't see owls very often, you do hear them at night in the woods. Fighting barred owls are noisy af. When I first moved here, I had no idea what I was hearing; They sound like monkeys.

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by Anonymousreply 47August 18, 2021 11:15 PM

Mostly eaten cat porn.

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by Anonymousreply 48August 18, 2021 11:27 PM

r14 Out to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat!

by Anonymousreply 49August 19, 2021 2:53 AM

They are creepy.

by Anonymousreply 50August 19, 2021 3:17 AM

I think they're lovely!

by Anonymousreply 51August 19, 2021 2:27 PM

I think my owls have left for greener pastures. I don’t hear them anymore. I never saw them.

I did use to see hairballs in my backyard but I thought that was were the chipmunks were cleaning themselves. Are you saying that those hair chunks were spit up by the owls? And here I thought I discovered where the chipmunks clean themselves.

by Anonymousreply 52August 19, 2021 3:03 PM

Owls are so cool. One gigantic one made a nest on a building at UofA. 200' around the nest was roped off and the front door of the building could not be used. Everyone would stop and watch and the astronomy department had a telescope out there for people to watch.

by Anonymousreply 53August 19, 2021 3:08 PM

Not terribly far from where I live, a couple of years ago, a large owl took a cat from a yard, It was a bit much for the owl, who was grasping the cat somewhere around it's back, and passing over a small lake, it lost its grip on the cat, and the cat plunged into the lake. Not to worry though, the cat swam ashore and arrived home some time later, a little the worse for wear with cuts on it's back and sides, but made a good recovery, with quite a story to tell its mates at the pub that evening.

by Anonymousreply 54August 19, 2021 3:27 PM

R54, that's why I hate owls.

Too many pets killed.

by Anonymousreply 55August 19, 2021 3:32 PM

I never knew the owls were eating those sweet little chipmunks. I will never be the same. So much hair. And all that time I thought they were just grooming their cute little bodies.

I am not cut out for nature. Too cruel.

by Anonymousreply 56August 19, 2021 3:37 PM

R55 I'll always be on the side of pets, as well.

by Anonymousreply 57August 19, 2021 3:59 PM

R54 and R55, I like pets, too. That's why I don't let mine run loose outside. Besides, cats kill a lot more birds than vice versa.

by Anonymousreply 58August 19, 2021 4:25 PM

A two hundred foot wide nest? Could that be a slight exaggeration?

by Anonymousreply 59August 19, 2021 4:38 PM

Dutch elder(gay?) has a nest with 3 young owls right outside his window

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by Anonymousreply 60August 19, 2021 4:39 PM

I was walking through the woods once and had a snowy owl fly over my head so closely it ruffled my hair. It was beautiful.

by Anonymousreply 61August 19, 2021 4:52 PM

What a delightful thread, OP.

I love your description: beautiful but spooky. I agree. I love owls; I feel very reverential towards them, and I'm not sure why.

It's been a pleasure reading the responses.

by Anonymousreply 62August 19, 2021 5:03 PM

R58, you are correct. I no longer allow my cats outside unless they are leashed so that I can walk them around the property. We are far back from the road, but there are many other things that can happen. I think the occurrence that prompted this was when my oldest cat, who was the only one allowed out by himself, arrived at the back door carrying a live, unharmed chipmunk in his mouth. Charlie is elderly and has only one tooth. Oh, the horror, the horror. I blinked my eyes and the chipmunk was gone, but that was the end of Charlie's hunting days.

by Anonymousreply 63August 19, 2021 6:49 PM

I saw an owl fly over the pond near Belvedere Castle in Central Park. It was huge. I’m not sure if it’s the one who met his demise when it crashed into a Conservancy golf cart or not. It’s always thrilling to me, to see wild things in the middle of Manhattan. Coyotes, wild strawberries, hawks, random corn, tomato and sunflower plants making it in the small patches of dirt in the tree pits.

by Anonymousreply 64August 19, 2021 6:52 PM

Oh that is very sweet and sad that someone thought the owls were just grooming the chipmunks! No, those balls of hair (they often look kinda like random poop, they don't look like a fresh floof of hair) are owl barf. Closer inspection will reveal them to be full of tiny bones. :(

by Anonymousreply 65August 19, 2021 7:23 PM

Have two Barred Owls hanging around. Found a tail feather over by my garden a couple of weeks ago. Hope they take out some snow squirrels!

by Anonymousreply 66August 19, 2021 7:26 PM

Nice, R63. My sister and mother, who live separately but insist that anything other than allowing pet cats full access to the outdoors (and the smorgasbord of small wildlife it contains) is cruelty, go through cats at an alarming rate. Most are lost to cars, some to larger wildlife. Each one is genuinely mourned. The local chipmunk and songbird populations have been decimated. Neither will consider keeping them indoors-only, or leash-training them. I've noticed the British in particular can get quite militant about this.

by Anonymousreply 67August 19, 2021 7:30 PM

Some squirrels. Tons of rabbits around right now as well.

by Anonymousreply 68August 19, 2021 7:31 PM

"Snow squirrels?" Is that a nickname for Canadians? I do not wish to be taken out by owls, fwiw.

by Anonymousreply 69August 19, 2021 7:31 PM

Snow Squirrels are white twinks that like BBC.

by Anonymousreply 70August 19, 2021 7:38 PM

Remember the pair of owls that nested in the cement pedimentation over some swanky apartment building on Fifth Avenue? Pell and Mel, I think they named them. Residents had to vote or something on what to do w them. WHET those cool owls?

by Anonymousreply 71August 19, 2021 8:47 PM

[quote] they don't look like a fresh floof of hair) are owl barf

They’re called owl pellets🦉

by Anonymousreply 72August 19, 2021 10:38 PM

Barn owls are frequently mistaken for Mothman.

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by Anonymousreply 73August 19, 2021 10:51 PM

Yes, sorry, "barf" makes it sound like the owl got an upset stomach or something doesn't it? Apologies from a fool.

by Anonymousreply 74August 19, 2021 10:52 PM

R73, that’s not a barn owl it’s a barred owl.

by Anonymousreply 75August 19, 2021 11:07 PM

R61, it flew so close to you because it was deciding whether to snatch you up or not!

by Anonymousreply 76August 20, 2021 1:10 AM

It would’ve had a helluva time getting me off the ground, r76!

by Anonymousreply 77August 20, 2021 1:18 AM

R71, I can’t tell if you’re serious or joking.

Pale Male and Octavia are red-tailed hawks.

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by Anonymousreply 78August 20, 2021 1:58 AM

I once had direct contact with a great horned owl when I foolishly allowed someone's pet to perch on my bare arm for about 2 seconds. There's a damn good reason that the owner had thick leather arm protection!

I thought I was going to squirt blood out of 8 holes in my arm. However, I was surprised at how little this big bird weighed, but even more shocked by just how powerful those talons felt.

Birds are really remarkable creatures. A neighbor had a talking pet crow who would fly around and visit people in the neighborhood. It seemed about smart as a small child (and generally more pleasant). I used to board a macaw that was smarter than almost any other animal I've ever encountered. It wasn't just mimicry and training. This crazy bird had a wicked sense of humor and very powerful emotions.

by Anonymousreply 79August 20, 2021 2:13 AM

Central Park Accidentally Offed Its Celebrity Owl

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by Anonymousreply 80August 21, 2021 3:13 PM

Yes. I live on the top floor of an apartment complex, and my terrace immediately overlooks a nature preserve with tree branches coming within 3-4 feet of the screens. Not only do I get the owls right outside, but also robins and squirrels and racoons and woodpeckers and God know what all else. I'm not a super "nature / granola" kind of guy, but it is very nice.

by Anonymousreply 81August 21, 2021 3:26 PM

That sounds lovely R81.

by Anonymousreply 82August 21, 2021 6:00 PM

Not an owl sighting, but several years ago, the local cemetery held an "owl prowl" in the early spring to owl watch (most of the leaves are off the trees making them easier to spot).

The first hour of the "prowl" was held in the chapel and the local raptor recovery group (they rehab raptors that have been injured and release them once recovered) was there with some raptors.

It was one of the most awesome things I've attended. Seating was limited and you had to pre-register months in advance but it was totally worth it. The cost was only like $25 to benefit the raptor house.

It was about 10pm (yes, we ended up walking around in a cemetery on a full moon at midnight. That was it's own cool).

The group brought out a hawk ( they are so much bigger than they look), a great horned owl (magnificent) and a screech owl. I loved that screech owl! It looks like a baby great horned.

Since we were sitting in the cemetery chapel, the people could put the bird on their arm and walk down the aisle so everyone could admire the birds. There were plenty of "oooooos" and "ahhhhhhhs". Most people never get to see raptors up close like that and it was a great experience.

After that, we went walking in the cemetery but we didn't see any owls or anything else. Big disappointment but seeing them before the walk was worth it.

by Anonymousreply 83August 22, 2021 6:36 PM

There are huge owls that sit in the upper windowsills of the abandoned 100-year-old high school building in the small town I live in. Usually you see them in the late afternoon. Their heads turn as they watch you walk past, otherwise they don't move and they don't make a sound. They look like gargoyles sitting up there.

by Anonymousreply 84August 22, 2021 6:46 PM

I see owls around once a week at my house (urban but very lush) and hear them every night. They’re so beautiful, the silent flight is a real sight. There’s some nesting nearby. There’s also a hawks nest (red tailed I think) just up the hill from me and I see those every day. Any wild animal that inspires fear in pet owners (especially cat owners) is good by me (I love the local coyotes for this reason). Pet cats are so destructive to birdlife they should be banned. Karma.

by Anonymousreply 85August 22, 2021 6:56 PM

I remember walking by a tree and looking up to see a squirrel fussing and eating, about 2 feet away from an owl. The owl didn't seem interested but I could think was that the squirrel was suicidal.

by Anonymousreply 86August 22, 2021 8:59 PM

Got one screeching it’s lungs out lately. Probably at the hideous neighbors.

by Anonymousreply 87October 7, 2021 12:54 AM

its

by Anonymousreply 88October 7, 2021 12:54 AM

[quote] I love wildlife.

And I love the nightlife!

by Anonymousreply 89October 7, 2021 1:50 AM

Not completely an owl story but owl adjacent… Several years ago our department had a staff recall event. Unbeknownst to us, administration arranged for the states raptorologist? (chief lady of the state raptor hospital), to bring a few of her guests. She had 8 carriers/cages on stage. Upon entering the auditorium I leaned over to a colleague and said, “if there isn’t a bear in one of these, I’m going to be disappointed.” We went from small raptors, to beautiful owls (barn, barred and great horned), to a peregrine falcon. Finally, she opened up the last and largest cage to much clamor and commotion from the cages prisoner and produced a…. Bald Eagle…. A literal fucking Bald Eagle that was rescued after he hit a power line and damaged one of his wings… I leaned over to my colleague and said, “ I guess this beats a bear.”. Most amazing thing I have seen in person on a work day.

by Anonymousreply 90October 7, 2021 3:21 AM

There's been an owl in my South Philly neighborhood for several years now, I hear it occasionally, but not consistently, when I'm out for my early morning walk. I guess every so often it takes off if the pickings are slim?

It may just be coincidental, but after someone installed one of those big plastic owls atop a disused utility pole I haven't heard any more hoots. How territorial are owls(are they?) Will they defend the area they are in, or just fly off if they feel there is competition locally?

Have never seen the live local owl, and it's impossible for me to figure out what direction the hoots are coming from due to echoes from all the buildings in the area.

by Anonymousreply 91October 7, 2021 7:31 AM

I love owls. Such beautiful animals. I had read somewhere that Walt Disney was attacked by an owl when he was a young man and ended up having to kill it. He was so haunted by having to take the poor creature’s life that he included an owl in almost every single one of his films.

by Anonymousreply 92October 7, 2021 8:15 AM

Owls do cry.

by Anonymousreply 93October 7, 2021 8:34 AM

^ speaking of Janet Frame, where we live in country New Zealand there are loads of native owls. 'Morepork' is their name. It has a very soft call, easily heard in the dead of night.

by Anonymousreply 94October 7, 2021 8:39 AM

.,.,

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by Anonymousreply 95October 7, 2021 9:03 AM

Burrowing owls. They have very long legs so they can run as well as fly.

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by Anonymousreply 96October 7, 2021 2:21 PM
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