Any owl fans here? ETA: I got to visit in person!!!

JAileen

Here’s the live cam:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOuiNxtECzA

Apparently two great horned owls are nesting right next to each other. This is the first time that’s been documented. Here’s the story:

https://www.rgj.com/story/life.....466931002/

ETA: Here’s a screenshot with a hatchling.

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7 years ago

Off Topic

28 replies

Latest reply was from JAileen

Aquamarine

Veteran

Very cool.

Not to hijack the thread, but this article was posted on Facebook the other day, and I confess it’s sort of changed how I view owls.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ma.....story.html

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Aquamarine, I can’t read your article. Was it an owl? One attacked my father on the head 50 years ago. They are not to be trifled with. I held a baby great horned owl in my lap for 30 minutes or so. It was snapping its beak. It really scared me, but it was a good sign that it wasn’t too stressed. I was stressed, though. They just want to protect their young from perceived danger.

7 years ago

Anonymous

Thank you JAileen, I especially enjoyed the youtube footage, it looks repetitious at first but not if you really watch closely.

The thing that surprised me the most about the Boston Globe article was that it surprised anyone. Proximity to a nest is a possible explanation but so is invasion of claimed hunting ground.

I'm hoping that the outcome of the article will be that parents will educate their children to be alert to the residents of any neighborhood they traverse, urban or otherwise.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Isabel, the camera is live! So that’s why they just blink every now and then. I happened on when the one on the right stood up and the hatchling stuck its head out.

7 years ago

Anonymous

Haha! Well, that explains why the second viewing seemed different! That is so interesting! Thank you!

7 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

There a park in Portland Oregon that has a notorious owl that attacks runners, or at least grazes their scalps.
They now have warning signs about it.

Tennyson
Tho'Nature red in tooth & claw"

I am a fan though, even though I had a great horned owl scare the crap outta me at 5 am. Their flight is silent due to feather design

7 years ago

Anonymous

I love to look at them, but they scare me. There is a mini owl (not sure what they are called) that occasionally sits atop our back fence in the early hours of the morning in the summer....

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Anna, seeing an owl in real life really makes my day. We have some great horned owls in our neighborhood that we can hear calling to each other in the evening.

Lisa, I found this website:
http://www.simplywildcanada.co.....of-canada/

The small ones in your area are probably northern saw-whet owl (1) and boreal owl (2). Do they look familiar to you? (I actually looked at Sibley’s range maps.)

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7 years ago

Aquamarine

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JAileen, sorry you could not read the link, but the suspicion was that it was an owl. The child emerged from the woods with no recollection of the attack.

7 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

I love owls but I keep my distance. They are very interesting to watch. We have Barred Owls near our house which is set back from the road in a wooded area. I listen to them "Who cooks for you".

You have some great pictures of the owls. How lovely to see a baby owl.

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7 years ago

JAileen

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Aquamarine, I hope the child was all right.

Style Fan, did you take that picture in your yard? Wow!

The owl on the left seems to have abandoned her eggs. Maybe she’s going to help raise the hatchling. I’ve been watching her walking around, gingerly.

7 years ago

Anonymous

Looks like the northern saw-whet. Aren't they beautiful creatures? That boreal owl is amazing , too.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Lisa, how lucky were you to see it!

My husband, Mr Birder, thinks the owl on the left has given up on her eggs to concentrate on raising the hatchling. It may have something to do with hormones. Any bird experts here, please fill us in.

7 years ago

Aquamarine

Veteran

Yes, the child lived but it was a very traumatic week in the hospital. Scary stuff.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Aquamaine, by chance, a friend just sent me the article you referenced. It was a scary read. It was probably just as well the child didn’t remember anything.

7 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

I grew up in a Victorian house that had a non-functioning fireplace. It was non-functioning in part because barn owls had built a nest inside. Every once in a while, a baby owlet would fall from the nest and end up at the bottom of the fireplace. The mama would drop food (gophers in various stages of digestion) to it. Once we'd discover the baby, we would scoop it up and put it on our roof-top deck and the mama would find it there and continue to feed it. I *think* the errant babies would grow and fledge OK in that situation. Honestly, there wasn't a lot to see, so we didn't watch all that carefully. I used to be jealous of those who had screech or horned owls in their environment because our barn owls seemed kinda weird-looking and didn't fulfill the childhood expectation of what an owl "should" look like

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Emily, are you kidding me? Barn owls are super cool. You’re right about babies out of the nest. We found one several years ago. Our dogs, Mr Skunky and Bob Barker found it, actually. We took it to a wild animal infirmary for two reasons: it was on the ground near the parking lot of a park where people let their dogs run off leash, and it was raining, and it didn’t have any feathers yet. We visited the infirmary just before they were going to release it. It turned out to be a she, and was beautiful.

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7 years ago

viva

Veteran

I love owls - I have one in my company logo.. I've seen a few IRL, and always - it seemed -- at important moments. (The day I started my company, the day we sold our house, etc.) Barred owls typically. I have a secret fantasy about seeing a snowy owl. One lives (apparently) at the Portland airport, and one is nesting at a lighthouse in our area. And there is always news about them hanging out at Logan Airport. But I never see them!!!

I love all birds of prey, actually. I look for them constantly - in the trees, atop lightpoles, etc. I see eagles, osprey, hawks, and falcons pretty regularly; owls much, much less so. They are all beautiful and amazing and powerful to observe. But I wouldn't get close to any of these guys. They don't call them birds of prey for nothing!

That owlcam is amazing - thanks for posting. So sad that the people in the office can't watch them without bothering them! Although frankly, I wouldn't get a stitch of work done if I could watch.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Viva, you’re a birder whether you knew it or not. I’m the same, always looking for them. A few years ago there was an irruption of snowy owls in the lower 48. We lived in the northern-most state without a sighting.
We’re really hoping to see some when we go to Barrow this summer. It all depends on the lemmings. (I’m not kidding.)

7 years ago

viva

Veteran

JAileen, I have a wonderful memory of taking my mother (for mother's day) on an early morning birdwalk at the local Audobon center when I was about 17. I can still remember hearing the beating wings of a ruffed grouse!!!! That was the one time I really felt like a "birder"! But my mother instilled a love of nature and of all birds in particular in me and in all of my sisters - I even find magic in the ubiquitous red-winged blackbirds.

I'd really love to do a serious birding tour somewhere. Adding it to my bucket list now.

Please report back on your Barrow trip.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Viva, I’ve never seen a ruffed grouse. We’ve been on a couple of trips to see sage grouse, and we saw the males displaying. That is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. We also saw a herd of pronghorn antelope! (Yes, I live in the wild west.)

I’ll definitely report on our Alaska trip. No matter what we see, it’s going to be interesting. BTW, being married to a serious birder turns every trip into a birdng trip..

7 years ago

Anonymous

Omg- I just found this post- fantastic! I watch eagle and hawk cams frequently.
DH and I are members of a raptor group that does fund raising for rehab raptor center.
I love them all but My fav is the Saw Whet- ADORABLE!!!!
Thank you thank you

7 years ago

Anonymous

Oh and check out Cornell - they have awesome bird site of which we are members. Recently let Audubon lapse as not as active locally as Cornell

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Efbgen, I’m glad you’re enjoying the owl cam. I know someone who works there, and I’m going to ask if we can visit. (Fingers crossed!)

Our local Audubon is active, with field trips, hands on programs for schoolchildren, etc. At the last meeting, the program was about using Ebird, which is a project of Cornell. My husband uses it all the time, recording what he sees. When we were in South Texas in February it helped us find local hot spots, and see some new birds.

7 years ago

Anonymous

Gazillion thumbs up J! Two years ago DH and I were on a tour of some of the National Parks- we were talking with another couple about raptors and bird watching in general. The Tour guide overheard our conversation. He asked how many other folks liked birds- almost the entire tour went nuts- lol. He new of a little known bird museum tucked away hiding in Yellowstone- We made a "slight detour" and went to the museum- The whole tour was so thrilled he heard our conversation- asked the question and hijacked the willing group- The bus driver was hilarious when the hijack happened!
Thanks again for post

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

I got to see them ‘in person’. I know someone who works there and I asked if we could go. He said sure, how about right now? Yes sirree. My husband was out birding, naturally, and had his binoculars, camera and giant zoom lens. I had my phone. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures I took.

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7 years ago

Style Fan

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Great thread. We heard the owls last night. "Who cooks for you". We have not seen them. I will try and get a picture if I do.

7 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Style Fan, I hope you get a picture.

Efbgen, birders are in a parallel universe.

7 years ago

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