Washingtonians

[RustyHen]

Those are great, thank you for the info.

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Strix&species=varia



I have been listening to owl calls since this morning with DH & THIS is the one, actually it is at least 2 and it IS their breeding season............BIG wingspread (50" for fe) and small body (2 # ?) this is one bird that can sail/glide very well.
Sometimes it sounds like there is 5 or 6 monkeys up in the trees !!!
I do not think they will grab a chicken, I don't think they would need to here, and what a great blessing it will be to have the mouse & rats problem taken care of !

Listen to their calls on this link...awesome weird noises they make !

 

[RustyHen]

It's amazing how little bird there is under all those feathers, with all owls.

They are quite small but as a rescuer of 2 different owls from my parents fireplace about 15 yrs ago. I can tell you the a full grown owl has huge feet and talons that could rip the daylights out of any rooster I have ever seen. Each toe was as big around as a man's finger but not as long of course.
Was I ever glad when I got that one out the door, I was almost afraid to turn him loose, because I was afraid he would turn on me. Way, way too up close and personal.

 

[ReiMiraa]

well i figured out who 2 of the dead are and they are very social locals and i am sure the 3rd one will be just as missed.

Leavenworth lost 3 great people today.

 

[Ogress]

Oh my what a funny story....
This is most definetly the Hoot Owl we have here.
Cannot believe the Huge wingspread on these birds!
In Northern CA at Grandmother's, we had hundreds of small owls that made the most awful Screetch & gumbled cocaphony of wierd hair raising noises all night for years that Grandpa invited his sons to come one week end & 'thin' the population.
I was just a small kid, but remember the screaming & odd noises were constant, all night long.
The family of birds lived in 2 big Oaks in Grandpa's yard...and we could spot what seemed like hundreds of pairs of owl eyes in the trees at night............
I do not remember much else.
But the population was thinned.
And the recordings of the screetch owl and not a screetch at all, but a soft tweet type chirp noise.
These birds that screamed so aweful it would raise every hair on your body & goose bumps all over as if ice water had been dribbled down the back must have been Barn Owls.
Imagine, walking softly, flash light in hand, into a big huge old creepy spider-web covered barn...and hearing that !!
Scare the day lights right out of ya !!!!!!!!!!!!

Listen here:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/barn_owl/id/nc

Makes me goose pimply all over !!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I've heard them. I called owls in the remote areeas of El Dorado NF and Plumas??? I think. Very near Tahoe, but no roads that connect. All the dirt rads ended along the edge of the Desolation Wilderness. Most of the Owls we found were in the canyons along the Rubicon River. Because the roads did not lead to frequented recreation areas, there was all sorts of illegal activity going on. The lower elevation areas we had to take DEA or State Police with us for protection because of all the hidden meth labs (1989) and pot gardens. The higher elevations people grew the pot in their truck beds that they would move periodically throughout the day with the sun. The highest areas were in the Desolation Wilderness, and we generally thought of them as safe, so we did not have Police with us. Well, twice on the same night up there we got the poop scared out of us .They had found a body earlier in the day at a much lower elevation. We were likely on edge because of that. We called near our truck and thought we heard an owl, so we hiked a ways from the vehicle, and the first call was answered by an owl that sounded just like a woman screaming! We ran as fast as we could vack to the truck. Later that same night and even higher up in the mountains, we stayed by the truck and called. It was so dark, no moon, could not see a thing. We called and were answered by a cougar that sounded like it was right next to us! We jumped in that car so fast and flipped on the lights and there he was! Not as close as we thought, about 70 feet away stitting on a rock and watching us. The area had very little tree cover, mostly rock and a few scrappy trees. We were trying to call out an owl that was on a treed slope just down from us. The slope was so steep, we did not want to go down it, so we were hoping the owl would fly up to us for a positive ID. Another night, in the same area that one of the bodies was found, we called and were answered by what sounded like someone asking "what? what?" I took my flashlight and there was a cute little Saw-whet owl on a branch so close I could reach out and touch it!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
While it is sad that people lost their lives. I have very strong feelings about people who go into "OUT OF BOUNDS" areas. But my feelings as a former rescuer are probably not appropriate at this time.
I am not saying these people were "out of bounds" or that they deserved it . My comment is just based on the info you stated. Again sorry for the loss.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

wexxom welcome in. Not to worry we don't mind folks from over there Shoot we let pettec hang out here and she ain't far from Moxee!

 

[Chickielady]

Oh kay!!
Bator update!!! So, after the kind and generous contributions of some dear friends here, who gave me some eggs to hatch, I candled today and looks like we have some chickies comin!! Oh yea and maybe acouple poults!!

I will candle again in a few days to make sure but, I had put 20 eggs in and only two came out clear!!
finally got the bator to settle down and stay consist ant in temp, which I had huge problems with last year. so yea.
Oh and I just want to

Toni to our forum!! LOL!!! Hey, Toni there's still great peeps here!! LOL! glad you could hop on girl!!!

Oh on a side note I was flippn through the channels and I ran across crook and chase, (country) I used to LOVE country back in the day, till it started going all popish, any way there are only a few current singers I like, and Brad Paisley is one of them! They were interviewing him and played his new video!! It was sooo cool!! It's about Alabama... and actually had old video clips of them and their music videos and at the end they were on there singing!!! I LOVED it!!!! Brought back some good times!!! Great to see those guys again!!

Oh, don't know what your weather is doing but it's almost 50 degrees sun is shining and it's gorgeous!! Having said that I better get on out of here and get more stuff done!!! ...oh yea did I say the SUN'S OUT and it's almost 50??? LOL!.....I know don't say it!! LOL

YIPPEE!!!

I have so many T eggs now I posted a classified !!!

 

[Chickielady]

My DD told me she studied owls in a class at CC, and that the screetch & shrill "woman screaming" calls are thought to be totally " adapted to SCARE prey.
A rat/mouse/rabbit or whatever hearing the shrill screetch will STOP, and sit bolt upright, eyes bugged, paralyzed.
Then POW, the owls take it away...

 

[Totalcolour]

YIPPEE!!!

I have so many T eggs now I posted a classified !!!

What are "T" eggs? Should I have some? Do they go in a 'bator or are they for eating? Where do they come from? What color are they? How big are they? Are they shiny?

Oh, duh! (turkey?)

Never mind!

(Cooked hubby a one egg omelet yesterday, it was HUGE [goose egg

] he gets another tomorrow)

 

[KMoran]

Phew what a day. Got tons done. Moved my Cornish crosses out to the shed. Its been around 65-70 degrees in there all day. Fingers crossed they will stay warm thru the night. My 9 Barred Rock Cockerels are so happy they have more room in the tub. Got the Chicken coop cleaned and put galvanized hardware cloth on the sides n roof of the inside of the chicken coop. Hopefully this will keep the mice out. Then got all the wood cut for my new potato boxes and garden boxes. YAY. Dinner is in the oven ( ham n potato casserole). Time to sit and relax. I hope everyone else had a productive Sunday.