Got a couple of acres in a NW Florida swamp. Been hearing Barred Owls for years.
How do I spot one? And tricks other than sitting still and being quiet? They seem to come pretty close. Can I “bait” them somehow with a box or something they would like to visit?
Funny story: First night I camped, three were doing their call/response thing. Every time they called, closer, and closer. Freaky sounding, one of the calls sounds almost like a child crying out.
For some reason, my idiot self thought coyotes were closing in. (Yes, I know well what coyotes sound like.)
Got a little freaked, grabbed my .410 (tiny shotgun) and decided to take the fight to them, scare 'em off (didn’t want them rooting around my site). Again, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, promptly got lost.
Got home, “Hey Google! What do coyotes sound like?” Oh FFS. I am not a clever man.
Saw a Pileated Woodpecker the other day though! Super cool and way bigger than I thought.
I can use this! Recordings sound like a fair bet, if I don’t overdo it. Mealtimes I didn’t know. Also, I’m not looking nearly high enough.
Does anyone else find their calls eerie as hell? Weird in retrospect, because now they clearly sound like owls to me, but they sure didn’t when I first got around them.
Now that I know what they look like, I think I saw one wounded, or playing so, a couple of years ago. It was on the ground and puffing up, threat display. Couple of ravens were stalking it. After watching a bit, I went over to defend him and he flew off. Not sure what I was seeing there.
Oh! Heard one here at the house the other day! I’m stoked.
(In case it wasn’t clear from my OP, I never let a shell off the rails, and will not unless I am under immediate threat from an identifiable target. LOL, just intended to scare of imaginary coyotes. Gods I still feel dumb about that.)
They will freak you out and catch you by surprise, especially if you’re expecting the stereotypical for the US “hoot” sound. Some like the Barn sound right out of a horror movie. Owls have been scaring the crap out of humans at night since caveman days!
I did a post on owls vs crows a little while ago that you may enjoy.
I’m glad you didn’t unload on the forest! I’ve met some people that probably would have over the years! 😒
WOW! I did not know they were arch enemies. Was questioning my memory as to whether it was crows after that poor dude, but there’s not much else around here that would gang up on an obviously larger owl. And your information seals the deal.
Not going to pretend I know the difference in crows, corvids, whatever. They’re big and black, fly together in packs of 6-8, and talk a lot amongst themselves.
Been meaning to go out in the morning and try to make some friends. :)
I had a corvid standoff in my yard this weekend. I’ve been feeding the bluejays for three last 3 years and the crows have finally caught in there’s free peanuts to be had. The jays aren’t keen to share though.
Corvids are mainly the blackbirds, crows, ravens, jackdaws, but bluejays are corvids too.