What a surprize I got !!!

[deerman]

Yes I was, think i stop the first attack, just after dark, Sorry I lost my buckeye rooster. Know it wil kill more predators. Just wish I had check that eye out better. Had to release that great bird, it may even had young. I love bird of prey even if they take a few of my birds. That owl had huge feather leggs and feet. Bet he would be able to take full grown peacock out of a tree. I dont free range my peacocks, good thing.

Still think the reason he went in the trap, was to get back to the kill, only bait was old eggs.

 

[tinyscrafts]

barn owls are endangered in OH?

wow,

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Thanks for posting the neat picture and also sorry about your roo. We have had a few owl encounters, but not too many----and we own most of the land on this road where see lots of wildlife. Its so interesting to see a creature like that up and close! It gives you new respect for them!

 

[2boxers]

Deerman...I believe that owl was cussing you!

What a gorgeous animal.

 

[damselfish]

Hey Barngem, that is a cool story.

Deerman, sorry about your roo but thanks for showing us these great pics of the owl.

 

[Intheswamp]

He probably reached through with a foot and pulled the roo's head through the wire and then maybe dispatched the roo with his beak.

Owls are notorious for predating purple martin gourds. They will land with one claw holding onto the entrance hole, begin to beat the gourd with their wings, and when a martin spooks and heads to the entrance the owl is waiting with his other open claw. They will also simply reach into the gourds and grab what they can. When they get their meal they will usually only fly 100-200 feet away and have dinner. Many times after a raiding a martin colony wings and feathers can be found within that radius from the gourd rack.

Owls have a knack for "reaching in".

ETA: Barn owls are beautiful birds, but can really spook you about dark when they come swooping across the road in front of your car. There's one on the rural road to our church...sure is a treat to see him. I also had one living in an old farm house across the road, but unfortunately I haven't see it lately.

Ed

 

[NotTheMomma]

WOW! Beautiful, and magestic! I'd love to see one up close and personal as well, as long as it's not eating a chicken in the process.

 

[cmjust0]

That's just NUTS! How cool, to see such an awesome bird up close like that!

I've caught three blackbirds in my livetrap so far.. Two at once, then another. Trap's out in the sweetcorn, waiting for raccoons, but the corn's not quite ready yet..

The last bird I caught was young.. I opened the trap and it walked out, then walked on back into the corn. I followed it (to check the corn, not to follow the bird per se) and it just walked along in front of me picking at the ground. I wondered if it had broken a wing in the trap..

About an hour later, I saw it hopping through the front yard. I walked over and it just stood there.. I squatted down and it actually took a few hops my way. One of my border collies came over to investigate and got one step too close.....

Much to my surprise, the bird simply turned and flew away.

Still can't figure out why it didn't fly away immediately...maybe it was just thankful that I'd let it out of the trap, and wasn't afraid of me..

 

[lattavillechickenman]

"barn owls are endangered in OH? "

According to the website we searched to ID the bird,
http://www.ohio-nature.com/ohio-owls.html#barn



"Common Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
The Barn Owl has been placed on the Ohio endangered species list due to habitat loss and the tearing down of the old barns. Consequently the common barn owl is not very common in Ohio."

 

[Oosik]

We discovered the dismembered remains of a couple of chicks in a small outdoor cage for young chicks and I guessed that something was pulling them through the chicken wire. I set a live trap up against the cage and baited it with some fish. The next day the fish was gone and the trap was not sprung. I left it set up and went to work. Later that morning my wife called to report that a hawk was in the trap.

This one was released -- as much as I like my chicks, I don't want a penalty for messing around with a federally protected bird.

The irony is that I moved the chicks into the large pen early and a coon got in to kill all but one. That coon was relocated to a hole in the yard.

Not the best photo but my wife was a bit freaked out that she had to release the bird without me being there.