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

[LuckyDuck]

Been listening to one of these guys for a few hours tonight trying to find a lady owl friend. As far as I'm concerned, I'd love for our back woods to be absolutely full of raptors and have been looking into owl/kestrel boxes I can hang in the trees there. Does anyone have any experience/success in growing a hawk/owl population in their backyard woods?

-LD

 

[akmike47]

View attachment 8504518

Been listening to one of these guys for a few hours tonight trying to find a lady owl friend. As far as I'm concerned, I'd love for our back woods to be absolutely full of raptors and have been looking into owl/kestrel boxes I can hang in the trees there. Does anyone have any experience/success in growing a hawk/owl population in their backyard woods?

-LD

My old place had a big oak out back with a breeding pair of bald eagles that nest in it.

 

[Woodlanddude]

Put up a bird feeder and enjoy the party as the doves and songbirds become hawk snacks in a giant ball of floating feathers. Especially if you have a utility pole or large tree nearby and above the feeder to make for a handy hunting perch. Owls, not so easy. You just kind of have to enjoy them where/when you see them.

 

[matthias]

Pigeons. Start a flock of pigeons. They will bring raptors from far and wide.

 

[Bantam1]

This one was hanging out at my work for a while. I think it was living on the roof of the building next door. They had a lot of work going on up there and this guy came down from the roof and was sitting on the fence. I guess they called animal control and the guy tried to capture it with a net. He failed and the owl barely flew away and now I get to see it often. No fear of me when I get close to take pics with my phone. It's cool to see how bright their eyes are in low light. The pic doesn't do it justice.

 

[Niles Coyote]

The grumpy cat of our feathered friends.

 

[ZiaHunter]

We have Great Western Horned Owls that roost around our orchard with plenty of dove and other small animals to feed on. Also several Red Tails as well as other hawks hang out around our place. Beautiful birds.

 

[wvfarrier]

Owls are pretty cool. We had a great horned owl living in our barn for several months. He showed zero fear of us and would eat out of my hand

 

[Thumper580]

I'd love to have one. They are so cool.

 

[stemikel]

We have one that visits for a few weeks every year or so. Amazing animal!

 

[Numenur]

They have that look on their face like they are always pissed off.
Love it.

 

[Makinchips208]

Owl taste like cat.

Owls are cool, and I do like them even though I’m an Idaho boy from a logging town.

 

[nagantguy]

This mating pair has spent the last 3 years in my wood shed - but ya can’t find the second one in the pic

 

[softcock]

View attachment 8504518

Been listening to one of these guys for a few hours tonight trying to find a lady owl friend. As far as I'm concerned, I'd love for our back woods to be absolutely full of raptors and have been looking into owl/kestrel boxes I can hang in the trees there. Does anyone have any experience/success in growing a hawk/owl population in their backyard woods?

-LD

Night hunting this summer I was standing beside my truck bed, with shoulders and head sticking up higher than the bed. I was just there scanning with the Therm. for some dogs for maybe 20 minutes. I had an Owl swoop my head so close, I was glad to be wearing a helmet, Owl was so close that I even heard it make a 'weird' soft little muffled vocal in my ear.
.

 

[XLR308]

If you do want to attract them near your home just make sure if you have kids they don't have any smaller pets left outside after dark.
We're we lived when I was in high school we had a great horned owl that was around fairly ofter.
There was an area light on the telephone pole in the back yard outside my window and my brother's Bob tailed Manx cat was out chasing bugs one night and I heard start screaming.
When I looked out the window I saw that big ass owl on top of it killing it and fly off with it.
Also always had barn owls in the equipment barns since there were always pigeons in and around them.

 

[mi650]

I see them out in the woods sometimes, chasing squirrels in the morning. Had one land on a branch about 10' from me once, took off before I could get a pic.

This one sat and watched me in my treestand for 10-15 minutes, about 15 yards away.

 

[Bullfrog08]

Dude....you always have the most off the wall topics.

My ex step-son had some ADHD issues, but was generally just an a-hole. Anyway, one time he went to stay at his dad's house and he bought some owls from a garage sale. He was maybe 11-12 years old. They were porcelain and had white round the eyes just like all the pictures above. He must have gotten 12 of them. He was so thrilled and excited. Talked about the stupid owls all night, almost giving his sister shit, because they didn't have any owls. These were like the ones you would see in your grandma's hutch. He placed those things all over in his bedroom. Whatever, do what you want. On the dresser, night stands, window sills, etc.

His bedroom was on the side of the house facing the road, so he got a little bit of light through his window at night. I went in Monday morning to get him up for school. All of those owls were turned 180 degrees away from his bed. I guess those owls staring him in the face in the dark, got the better of him.

He would get home before me, and when I got home I went back to ask him about the owls, just to kind of give him shit. I walked in and all the owls were gone. I couldn't say shit, I just turned around and chuckled to myself for 30 minutes. Just writing this, I'm laughing. None ofus heard about, or ever seen those owls again.

 

[oldshooterback]

Years ago wife and I lived on a trout stream with several acres, had a resident owl hooting every night and sometimes get to hear the screams of his victims, usually a rabbit. Pretty cool

 

[sandhiller]

I don't mind owls around the place, they take care of mice and other undesirables
They are hard on little cats though, not so cool.
I see allot on the highway at night swooping down for kangaroo rats in my headlights
I have bounced them off the Herd, fenders and even windshield
Sometimes they don't bounce.

 

[hkguns]

I have two that visit regularly, living nearby.

 

[ggmanning]

Been listening to one of these guys for a few hours tonight trying to find a lady owl friend. As far as I'm concerned, I'd love for our back woods to be absolutely full of raptors and have been looking into owl/kestrel boxes I can hang in the trees there. Does anyone have any experience/success in growing a hawk/owl population in their backyard woods?

-LD

Get some yard chickens and don't put them in a coupe at night and you will get the big owls. All sizes of them are periodically around my barns for mice. Also if you really want some raptors raise rabbits and turn a few loose at a time. The small and large hawks will show up.

 

[Jsp556]

This one lives in the creek bottom on my property. He’s been there since I bought the place. He doesn’t mind me getting close at all.

 

[Sniff]

About 18 months ago I was out spotlighting possums late one night. I was looking through some trees and a large moth flew at the light.

A morepork (an NZ owl which makes a call like "more pork" ) came out of nowhere and took the moth about ten feet from my face. It was quite cool and unexpected.

There are heaps where I shoot possums, but they are normally only heard and rarely seen. There's (at least) one near my house in the suburbs. I often hear it at night.

 

[Peterpan]

owls can be hell on chickens and kittens. i always chalked it up to coyotes or a bobcat but i finally seen it for myself. owls are natures snipers.

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

View attachment 8504668

This one was hanging out at my work for a while. I think it was living on the roof of the building next door. They had a lot of work going on up there and this guy came down from the roof and was sitting on the fence. I guess they called animal control and the guy tried to capture it with a net. He failed and the owl barely flew away and now I get to see it often. No fear of me when I get close to take pics with my phone. It's cool to see how bright their eyes are in low light. The pic doesn't do it justice.

Animal control around here knows not to mess with wildlife and wildlife management (DNR) would tell you to leave it alone if you called about it.

 

[JoshPutman]

We lived down a canyon on a dirt road in Utah when I was a teen, and one evening after sunset my mom and I were driving down the road, and we came upon a large owl sitting in the middle of the road on top of a rabbit. We stopped and watched it in the headlight beams until it decided to fly off with its kill.

The owl was huge. It had to have stood at least three feet tall, or it seemed that large, looking back through my memory banks. This was roughly 35 years ago.

Man, I haven't thought of that in years.

There's one in the woods on my property that my wife and I can sometimes hear at night while we're laying in bed.

 

[UNRL Ghandi]

We have a big dead maple tree at the edge of the woods with a perfect owl hole in it. For years we would look to see if there was ever an owl there and nothing. Then one day my wife looked out the window and spotted this one. She named it McHootlemuggins. Stayed there for two weeks then left. Came back one more time and we haven't seen another owl since then. Was awesome to look out the window and see it there every day while it lasted.

No idea how to attract or keep them there but we do hear them quite often out in the woods. Rarely see them though.

 

[Turkeytider]

View attachment 8504668

This one was hanging out at my work for a while. I think it was living on the roof of the building next door. They had a lot of work going on up there and this guy came down from the roof and was sitting on the fence. I guess they called animal control and the guy tried to capture it with a net. He failed and the owl barely flew away and now I get to see it often. No fear of me when I get close to take pics with my phone. It's cool to see how bright their eyes are in low light. The pic doesn't do it justice.

Great Horned, also known as the flying wolf. Can and do prey on adult wild turkeys. Can knock a turkey off of its roost perch and ride it to the ground. If one finds a turkey carcass with only the head and neck area eaten, it’s undoubtedly a horned owl kill.

 

[Turkeytider]

Hard not to be impressed by the subtle yet beautiful coloration of the barn owl. Rodent hunter extraordinaire!

 

[Bantam1]

I have had a couple bounce or skim off the roof/windshield of my truck at night. Usually the all white ones for some reason. I am not sure what type they are. I hate it when it happens. I respect birds of prey. I do not like Cormorants and other trash birds.

Animal control around here knows not to mess with wildlife and wildlife management (DNR) would tell you to leave it alone if you called about it.

Yeah I told the guy to leave it alone. Of course he walked up and took pics with his phone before trying to net it. I asked him what was he going to do with it if he captured it. "I will release it somewhere else to find a new hunting ground". I just shook my head and told him he was an idiot. Near my office there are several open fields and old orange orchards. Plenty of hunting space for it. There are all sorts of hawks and falcons around here working the area. Once in a while we will see a pair golden eagles high up circling. Usually a few times per year.

There are several birds of prey around here. I have a couple of falcons around my house that like to take down smaller birds and sometimes fat doves. They are cool to watch come in at speed and crash into the trees to grab those annoying birds that make noise all night. I can't remember if they are prairie or merlin falcons. Where I grew up there were Peregrines that hunted some sports fields. Pretty cool to see those things diving at crazy speeds.

 

[101st]

I see them out in the woods sometimes, chasing squirrels in the morning. Had one land on a branch about 10' from me once, took off before I could get a pic.

This one sat and watched me in my treestand for 10-15 minutes, about 15 yards away.

Man, that's a creepy pic.

 

[mi650]

Man, that's a creepy pic.

It was kinda creepy with it sitting there watching me.

 

[jrassy]

I had one fly by me deep in the woods, about 7 ft. Above ground, so close and quiet, gave me the willys for a second. Then i just thought, well that was cool.

 

[Holliday]

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…..

 

[101st]

We had this guy in our back yard this past April.

 

[XLR308]

Man, that's a creepy pic.

If you have any inlaws that are native American that your not particularly fond of send them an owl trinket or decoy as a gift.
I used to put up my owl decoy when my ex brother in-law would come over.
It would visibly make him uncomfortable and he would try not to even look at it.
I really did not like the guy and I think he got the message.

 

[LuckyDuck]

If you have any inlaws that are native American that your not particularly fond of send them an owl trinket or decoy as a gift.
I used to put up my owl decoy when my ex brother in-law would come over.
It would visibly make him uncomfortable and he would try not to even look at it.
I really did not like the guy and I think he got the message.

Genuinely curious- what's the relationship between Native Americans and Owls? Some kind of superstition I'm guessing?

-LD

 

[Cummins06]

For all you owl lovers, there is a big ass owl at Bohemian Grove in Commiefornia where all the satanic elitists get together to grab each others dicks and prance around to do gay shit.

 

[XLR308]

Genuinely curious- what's the relationship between Native Americans and Owls? Some kind of superstition I'm guessing?

-LD

Its generally viewed as a bad omen or sign of emminent death to many tribes if an owl is seen during the day.
So yes mainly superstition.
My grandmother and her family on my dad's side were german immigrants and I swear if my grandmother was in the car with us and a black cat crossed the road we would have to find a different road or turn around.
Superstitions are very real for some people.

 

[LuckyDuck]

Great Horned, also known as the flying wolf. Can and do prey on adult wild turkeys. Can knock a turkey off of its roost perch and ride it to the ground. If one finds a turkey carcass with only the head and neck area eaten, it’s undoubtedly a horned owl kill.

I can believe it. Owls are absolutely the apex predators of the night and give zero fucks while they're hunting.

-LD

 

[Turkeytider]

Genuinely curious- what's the relationship between Native Americans and Owls? Some kind of superstition I'm guessing?

-LD

Very deep and widespread among the tribes. You can easily look it up.

 

[Rust]

Fifty some years back, a couple of kids (NOT me) had read an adventure book about raising a snow owl as a pet. As there were no snow owls available, they knew where a great horned owls nest was out in a pasture. Yep, they decided to raid the nest for an owlet to raise as a pet. Ever seen the talons on a great horned owl? Impressive. Turns out it was a bad plan.

 

[Maser]

I'd love to have a pet barn owl. When I was a kid in elementary school we got to open up owl pellets and put the bones of the eaten animal back together and glue it to paper.

 

[mi650]

I had one fly by me deep in the woods, about 7 ft. Above ground, so close and quiet, gave me the willys for a second. Then i just thought, well that was cool.

Had that happen with a bald eagle once, but I knew it was there.

It was sitting in a tree and I got within 20 yards before it took off and flew over me.

 

[LuckyDuck]

Quick update since last week's post-

I'm certain that we have at least 3 Great Horned Owls in the backwoods, two of which I was able to put glass on (thank you Vortex Razor UHD's)

Within the past two nights, I'm now also hearing at least one Eastern Screech Owl.

These birds are just so freaking cool... I'm up to 2 species of Owls, at least 4 owls total and also a "battle toad" of which species is still to be determined. A part of me mourns the death of the younger version of me that'd kick my current butt for being as enamored with this type of stuff now but it's starting to feel like I've got my own "Bear Pit" in my own backyard.

Our local municipality apparently releases a quarterly newsletter of sorts which we just got our first one for Fall 2024 today, and they're warning about Bear prevention strategies since the human/bear interaction is likely to go up moving forward. I'm showed this to my wife and tried to convince her that I need to purchase a Marlin 1895 SBL in 45-70 to "protect us" and the house but as of tonight, even with the newsletter, she seems awfully suspicious that I'm using it as an "excuse" to buy a "bear gun" that I don't need (allegedly at least).

I, as the self-appointed protector of my family and head of household, take this responsibility VERY seriously so will continue to work on this familial discussion to ensure we've got the appropriate amount of insurance for the winter this year and moving forward.

-LD

 

[Makinchips208]

Quick update since last week's post-

I'm certain that we have at least 3 Great Horned Owls in the backwoods, two of which I was able to put glass on (thank you Vortex Razor UHD's)

View attachment 8511322

Within the past two nights, I'm now also hearing at least one Eastern Screech Owl.

View attachment 8511325

These birds are just so freaking cool... I'm up to 2 species of Owls, at least 4 owls total and also a "battle toad" of which species is still to be determined. A part of me mourns the death of the younger version of me that'd kick my current butt for being as enamored with this type of stuff now but it's starting to feel like I've got my own "Bear Pit" in my own backyard.

Our local municipality apparently releases a quarterly newsletter of sorts which we just got our first one for Fall 2024 today, and they're warning about Bear prevention strategies since the human/bear interaction is likely to go up moving forward. I'm showed this to my wife and tried to convince her that I need to purchase a Marlin 1895 SBL in 45-70 to "protect us" and the house but as of tonight, even with the newsletter, she seems awfully suspicious that I'm using it as an "excuse" to buy a "bear gun" that I don't need (allegedly at least).

I, as the self-appointed protector of my family and head of household, take this responsibility VERY seriously so will continue to work on this familial discussion to ensure we've got the appropriate amount of insurance for the winter this year and moving forward.

-LD

What’s the familial equivalent of eminent domain? This new ______ gun is more important than the current peace and tranquility, therefore we have no choice but to acquire it.

 

[LuckyDuck]

What’s the familial equivalent of eminent domain? This new ______ gun is more important than the current peace and tranquility, therefore we have no choice but to acquire it.

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

 

[paulrem308]

Glad someone mentioned the screech owl. They don't get very big, but man do they make one hell of a racket. Like someone screaming. Old timers say someone about to die if you hear one.

 

[LuckyDuck]

Glad someone mentioned the screech owl. They don't get very big, but man do they make one hell of a racket. Like someone screaming. Old timers say someone about to die if you hear one.

They're so cool man, and the noise they make is so unique which makes them even more interesting to me & easy to identify. But yep- at least 3 Horned Owls that I can account for and just recently 1 Screech Owl within the past 2 days. They've been going crazy since I started the thread here and like you said, make quite the racket.

I now feel older than dirt for being this interested in birds (although to be fair, I'm only focused on raptors and not morning birds) but dang if they aren't the coolest thing since sliced bread to listen to while I'm out back at night.

A cigar night is coming up, just need to find the dang key to the humidor since we've moved.

-LD

 

[BAMAboy18]

I've had a few personal encounters; one big (2'+) solid white barn owl out in the woods was very majestic. Coolest was two juvenile horned owls lighting on a branch just outside a window after a storm, only there for a few seconds! Went to high school in Anchorage so I've seen plenty of bald eagles, I've only seen one in S. Alabama on Ft Rucker. I have been lucky enough to witness a hawk snatching dinner 3 different times right in front of me!