I'm a big fan of Owls personally...

#51
LuckyDuck said:
LOL, I'm joking (slightly) but yeah- who doesn't love a good bear gun argument. Just been pitching that the Marlin SBL would fit awfully nice above the fireplace mantle (you know, just in case ;)).

Family is protected, I get a new (albeit slightly ridiculous rifle) under the guise of necessity that harkens back to our forefathers that colonized this great country...

Anywho that's the story I'm selling, wife isn't buying it but dollars to doughnuts, the very 1st night we have a bear in our backyard, it's going to be my "fault" that we don't have a "bear rifle" at the ready to protect (not us) but our 4 legged pets. Not joking about that either, once the trash can gets flipped and the wife is watching it happen, yep it'll be "bear rifle time" for the exact same reasons I was pitching already.

Any other married fella's out there- help me out with a nod that I'm speaking the truth.

-LD
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A few years ago, 150 yards behind our house:

dWVC61h.jpg

Coincidentally, I'll be using a 45-70 for deer.
 
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#54
I live in what is definitely the suburbs in a small townhouse community...very nice townhouses but nonetheless with wild woods right behind me that are part of a city park. I've been hearing an owl hooting outside for last 2 years. When I hoot back, it seems to fuck it up for a bit...then goes back to hooting. lol I've only seen it in silhouette and have no idea what kind. But this is in Maryland so pretty sure its a smaller common owl type.

In any case, no more little bunnies or chipmunks and I used to see quite a few. Also prob due to red fox I've also seen prowling around. Too bad the owl can't take down one of these &$(%* deer that keep eating our landscaping. They are so use to not being threatened (shoot one where I live and its a long time in jail) that you have to honk your horn out them to get them to move out of the damn way.
 
#55
akmike47 said:
My old place had a big oak out back with a breeding pair of bald eagles that nest in it.
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A land clearing company out here clearing off property for more developement supposedly dozed down a hollow oak den tree that had been used by many generations of Great Horned Owls. They said they found small dog and cat collars, some with vet tags dating back years.

Fucking serial killer owls. Seriously, Great Horned Owls are some apex predators.
 
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#57
TexPatriot said:
A land clearing company out here clearing off property for more developement supposedly dozed down a hollow oak den tree that had been used by many generations of Great Horned Owls. They said they found small dog and cat collars, some with vet tags dating back years.

Fucking serial killer owls. Seriously, Great Horned Owls are some apex predators.
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Yeah they give zero shits lol

The craziest part is how silent owls are flying, they can go right over you and you don’t hear shit. They have serrated wing tips that break up vortices
 
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#58
Holliday said:
We have a nasty group of town-crows here that behave like a gang of angry barking dogs. During “open window season” they start in about 4:00-5:00 am and sporadically throughout the day. While outside working and enjoying a peaceful summer morning, they like to pretend to be 1%ers heckling a lone jap-bike rider…. 🐦‍⬛

Having tried a variety of recorded predator bird sounds, I have found owls sounds best to scare them off. Usually a few runs and they decide to party and smash bottle elsewhere.

I have on occasion accidentally called owls into the area, which can be heard peacefully hooting throughout the night. The neighbors always are grateful….. 🦉
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My parrot mimics the local murder of crows now.
We do have at least one owl too. My little dog would refuse to do her business at night if he was out and about.
And we’re in the middle of suburbia.
 
#59
Holliday said:
We have a nasty group of town-crows here that behave like a gang of angry barking dogs. During “open window season” they start in about 4:00-5:00 am and sporadically throughout the day. While outside working and enjoying a peaceful summer morning, they like to pretend to be 1%ers heckling a lone jap-bike rider…. 🐦‍⬛

Having tried a variety of recorded predator bird sounds, I have found owls sounds best to scare them off. Usually a few runs and they decide to party and smash bottle elsewhere.

I have on occasion accidentally called owls into the area, which can be heard peacefully hooting throughout the night. The neighbors always are grateful….. 🦉
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I had a bunch that would sit over my old deer stand raising hell so I bought a predator call with crow calls. They’d haul ass when I’d set off distress calls.
 
#60
akmike47 said:
Yeah they give zero shits lol

The craziest part is how silent owls are flying, they can go right over you and you don’t hear shit. They have serrated wing tips that break up vortices
Click to expand...
I've been varmint calling on moonlit nights and had them pass right over head, no sound just a black shadow. Creepy AF.
 
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#62
Baron23 said:
I live in what is definitely the suburbs in a small townhouse community...very nice townhouses but nonetheless with wild woods right behind me that are part of a city park. I've been hearing an owl hooting outside for last 2 years. When I hoot back, it seems to fuck it up for a bit...then goes back to hooting. lol I've only seen it in silhouette and have no idea what kind. But this is in Maryland so pretty sure its a smaller common owl type.

In any case, no more little bunnies or chipmunks and I used to see quite a few. Also prob due to red fox I've also seen prowling around. Too bad the owl can't take down one of these &$(%* deer that keep eating our landscaping. They are so use to not being threatened (shoot one where I live and its a long time in jail) that you have to honk your horn out them to get them to move out of the damn way.
Click to expand...
Motion activated sprinkler! 😉
 
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#63
Owls are cool. They can have their downside if you have pets or chickens/ducks.

They also tend to be... Curious. Not sure that's the right word but it will do.

There's a spot I would night fish years ago. And we would build a fire if it was cool or run a Coleman lantern when it was warmer. The light would attract the owls... And we would entertain ourselves hooting at them and listening to them reply.

Screech owls aren't as fun. The noise they make isn't pleasant... Especially when you're walking in the dark and not expecting it. Talk about crap your pants.

Mike
 
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#64
“There are great horned owls were I live. Possums, rats, small dogs, and cats get carried away quite often. There’s just nothing they can do. The owl is a silent hunter, almost impossible to detect before you feel the talons in your back.

Say an owner takes their pet outside to relieve themselves, hears the phone ring and goes back inside (leaving the pet outside). There’s no promise that pet will still be there when they come back. I have a big dog, so he can’t get carried away, but I sure don’t let my cats go out at night.

It’s a death sentence.”

*posted on another popular website.
 
#65
Got this dang cat back in the house. My legs are all cut up and he got a flea bath much to his chagrin but oh well. He looks like a drowned rat but at least he wasn't scooped up by one of the owls.

-LD
 
#68
Whelp-

The Owls are "back" (interestingly the same timeframe as when I started this thread). One thing I'm certain of is these are 100% Great Horned Owls by their 'hooting'. My hearing is trash but my best guess is there's at least 3 of them I've been listening to for the past two weeks or so based off the source/location of them hooting up a storm.

Of course the one cat I have that has rocks for brains seems to be enamored with their calls and not realize that (1) he's an indoor cat not and (2) these fuckers will eat his ass at the first opportunity.

That all said- I don't believe Horned Owls are migratory but then again I haven't heard them in the back woods for a few months and all of a sudden I'm hearing a bunch of them again since September. My best guess was that this would be their mating season (hence why I've been listening to them going nuts for two Septembers now) but my internet searches suggest that their mating season is actually in the Jan-Feb timeframe.

So I'm at a complete loss for an explanation on where they went & why September/October seems to get them all riled up here. Any other (better) theories?

-LD
 
#69
Devildog said:
View attachment 8514498

I have a pair of these guys on my place, are feral cats disappear as fast as crab rangoon’s at a Chinese buffet!
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Looks like a barred to me. Not sure that they would tackle a cat, but certainly could be wrong on that .
Edit: Looked it up. Yes, barred owls can prey on smaller feral cats but in general prefer smaller rodents and mammals.
Great Horns, another story entirely. Wolves with wings!
 
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#71
Defiantly_Not_Bender said:
View attachment 8781931
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Have I mentioned recently that I don't care for you? It's not even that I find you & your posts disagreeable either- it's because you're a thief of joy. You contribute nothing and try to take everything from complete strangers.

What a miserable existence you must live in. I'm not even mad, more than anything I just feel sorry for you. That's pretty sad when the Duck feels sorry for someone isn't it?

Pick yourself up, grow a pair, and start living life instead of leeching off of other's joy. It doesn't make things any better in my world but sounds like it'd be a significant difference in yours.

-LD
 
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#76
The "World Bird Sanctuary" and "National Raptor Center" is close to my house. I took my Boy Scout Troop one weekend. They brought out a couple of dozen different Raptors. Several were owls. The handlers said that despite their reputation as intelligent, they are the dumbest raptors there are. Their eyes take up most of their skulls, and their brains are by far the smallest. They are much more instinctual and more difficult to train than any other raptor. They are also much more voracious killers. While most raptors have preferences in their diet owls will literally kill and eat anything smaller than they are.

We have tons of Barred Owls in my neighborhood. Not quite as big as Great Horned, but almost.
IMG_0794.jpeg
 
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#78
Fig said:
The "World Bird Sanctuary" and "National Raptor Center" is close to my house. I took my Boy Scout Troop one weekend. They brought out a couple of dozen different Raptors. Several were owls. The handlers said that despite their reputation as intelligent, they are the dumbest raptors there are. Their eyes take up most of their skulls, and their brains are by far the smallest. They are much more instinctual and more difficult to train than any other raptor. They are also much more voracious killers. While most raptors have preferences in their diet owls will literally kill and eat anything smaller than they are.

We have tons of Barred Owls in my neighborhood. Not quite as big as Great Horned, but almost.
View attachment 8781948
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What a champ- was he/she eating? If not I would have expected them to be perched higher is all.

-LD
 
#81
LuckyDuck said:
Sticking with my guns that there has to be a logical reason these owls go nuts come September but I can't figure out why.

-LD
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If you want to go to the trouble, I would think that that would be a question you could pose to a raptor center. I’m sure there are staff or ornithologists specializing in owls that could answer that question. I wonder if it’s territorial disputes in preparation for breeding season later on (?).
 
#83
LuckyDuck said:
Sticking with my guns that there has to be a logical reason these owls go nuts come September but I can't figure out why.

-LD
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Yes, mating season. I’m about to hang two owl boxes for them to nest in. I was instructed to wait until late October. I’m hoping for help to reduce the flying squirrel population.

Great Horned Owls will not nest in boxes. I’m expecting barred owls.
 
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