Barred Owl Near My Deck

[Huzrjim]

Barred owl about 20 feet from our deck. This fellow has apparently taken residence in our woods - as he has visited this stump four nights in a row around 8 pm. He pretty much ignored my wife and I sitting on our deck enjoying the nice evenings.


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[Mark 1911]

Very cool. They are beautiful birds.

 

[OWGEM]

What fun.

 

[223 Gunner]

That's cool. Owls are interesting birds.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

awesome!

I love their call. Haunting.

-J-

 

[smokingman]

Leave him some fish

We have a barred owl that visits regularly now.We leave him fillets of fish in the tree off our front deck. I did not realize it until I did some home work,but barred owls can live 10+ years in the wild.He will also help keep the mice and rabbits under control.I would not try to tame one,but ours is friendly enough now you can talk to him without him being scared off.Barred owls are one of the few species of birds that can recognize specific humans by our faces,so if he spots you putting fish out he/she may think you are alright lol.They are also the only owls in North America that do not have yellow eyes.I would be careful and put fish out well before you expect him to arrive the first few times.It took a few weeks for Egor to get used to us,and my first attempts at putting fish out scared him away for a few days.The other thing you could do to "help" him out is place a little bird seed around that stump to attract rodents,but place it far enough away they have no cover from your owl.

Egor tracking a mouse,that was eating bird seed under our feeder.He has gotten more than one mouse for sure

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

Very cool, and nice pic's too!

 

[Frosty]

Awesome, I always loved sitting on the porch at my mom and dads and listening to the owls talk to each other.

 

[st33da]

Great looking pics.

 

[Indysioux]

Agreed, great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[Huzrjim]

Leave him some fish

We have a barred owl that visits regularly now.We leave him fillets of fish in the tree off our front deck. I did not realize it until I did some home work,but barred owls can live 10+ years in the wild.He will also help keep the mice and rabbits under control.I would not try to tame one,but ours is friendly enough now you can talk to him without him being scared off.Barred owls are one of the few species of birds that can recognize specific humans by our faces,so if he spots you putting fish out he/she may think you are alright lol.They are also the only owls in North America that do not have yellow eyes.I would be careful and put fish out well before you expect him to arrive the first few times.It took a few weeks for Egor to get used to us,and my first attempts at putting fish out scared him away for a few days.The other thing you could do to "help" him out is place a little bird seed around that stump to attract rodents,but place it far enough away they have no cover from your owl.

Egor tracking a mouse,that was eating bird seed under our feeder.He has gotten more than one mouse for sure

Great advice and awesome photo! I'll try the bird seed idea this week and check the supermarket for some inexpensive fish fillets.

 

[churchmouse]

Both of these birds are extremely cool

 

[tmschuller]

how tall is it?? I have a small owl that resides in our barn and if I set for a bit it will come out and wait after I grain our horses.. I have noticed a drop in the mouse population and did not even have one in the house after harvest last year ( we live in the middle of fields)
This particular owl is about 10-12 inches tall and is not afraid of me.. Thanks .

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Thats a beautiful bird. I like the pics.

 

[shooter521]

They are cool birds.

 

[grunt soldier]

I have one who has lived behind/beside my house for about 3 years. I noticed a huge drop in the rabbit and mouse populations. My green beans haven't been attacked nearly as often since he moved in. One night him and my dog has a race for a rabbit out in the field. it was pretty crazy to watch. I thought he was going for my dog at first but Franco is a 130 lbs so I wasn't sure what he was doing till he pulled up with the prize in his claws. I have never attempted to feed this one but he lets my daughter and I get with in 20 feet or so talking to him.

He first moved in when I got my chickens. I couldn't figure out what was killing them as they were fenced in. I put a game can in the coop and right outside. he would land inside the fence and walk up the ramp into the coop. He would pick his chicken. kill it and then sit there and eat it in front of the rest of them lol. I couldn't believe it. He ate my rooster first. I was impressed and angered at the same time lol.

 

[shinkle]

very cool. I've heard one across the field in a very narrow tree line but I can't find him. I've only looked from the end of my yard that is @100 yards. I've looked with my best binoculars but can't find him. assuming a "him" because I haven't seen him. don't want to walk over to trees and chance scaring him away. but have almost become obsessive with seeing him. every time I hear him I drop what I am doing to grab my binoculars. I must see him.

 

[WilsonMD]

Awesome stuff. I want one...

 

[dtkw]

The only thing that I don't like about owls is that they are extremely noisy at night when I was sleeping. Hooo Hoooo.....all night long. I finally had it, got myself a powerful spot light, whenever it went Hooo Hoooo. I just shined the light at its eye, it'd flew away. After a few times, I think it got the message and never came back.