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Great Horned Owl #7436205 02/17/19 05:30 AM
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flintknapper Offline OP
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Great Horned Owl I nursed back to health a few years ago.

Found him/her tangled in a barb wire fence. I'm guessing it didn't see it while try to swoop down on something. One wing had a tear to the muscles up near the body but no broken bones. The owl could not take good flight as it was.

I called to see if there were any Raptor Rehab places near me...and the closet one was 3 hrs. away (Houston) and they said they couldn't take it right then. They suggested I call my local Game Warden, so I did. Told him that I had an Owl and had no place to take it. I said that I could probably nurse it back to health but that Federal Law didn't allow me to possess an Owl. He replied "What Owl"? Getting his drift...I said "I understand" and we hung up.

Took about a month...but he eventually healed up and when I released him he flew plenty well enough several hundred yards up into a tree line. Hopefully he did well afterward. I never saw any sign of him again.

They have eyes that seem to just look right through you.

Attached Files Mr.Owl_4.jpgMr.Owl_5.jpgMr.Owl_6.jpgMr.Owl_7.jpg

Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436209 02/17/19 05:48 AM
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That is awesome!!! Nice work Sir cheers


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436214 02/17/19 06:10 AM
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Good job up


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436251 02/17/19 01:03 PM
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Well played! Great pics!

One of my favorites. cheers


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436252 02/17/19 01:05 PM
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They are an amazing predator as are all Owls and Hawks. You did good.

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436283 02/17/19 02:05 PM
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Looks like he had an affinity for male Cardinals too, great specimen and job.

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: Bee'z] #7436506 02/17/19 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by 2Beez
That is awesome!!! Nice work Sir cheers


Absolutely beautiful.....


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

"You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436535 02/17/19 06:45 PM
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cheers Interesting to see the difference in the size of the pupil in its eyes in the dark vs. bright sun in your photos.


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436544 02/17/19 07:01 PM
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coolpics Great job!

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: stxranchman] #7436665 02/17/19 10:29 PM
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Originally Posted by stxranchman
cheers Interesting to see the difference in the size of the pupil in its eyes in the dark vs. bright sun in your photos.


Yes, observant of you. Their pupils will also adjust individually to some extent.

I was surprised to learn something else about them (or at least this one) in that I always assumed they tore their food into small bits before consuming it. Not so. Larger game like rabbits and squirrel...yes. Smaller prey like birds and field mice it would tear the head off the animal and then literally gulp it down whole! The first time I fed it a field mouse (about the size of a bar of soap) I couldn't believe it just swallowed it whole. Why they decapitate the smaller game...I do not know.

It was easy to keep the owl fed since I live in the country on my own property. I baited out some of those large 'sticky' type rat traps (cut them into thirds) and tied them to the bottom of fence posts with some string. We have a pasture behind the house with plenty of mice.

The owl showed a distinct preference for live prey. It wasn't always easy to remove a mouse from the sticky trap depending on how badly they were stuck. I don't know how often an owl 'has' to eat....but I can tell you they will happily consume a couple of mice or sparrows a day. They seem to have a voracious appetite.

Those sticky traps catch pretty much anything that lands/crawls/walks across them. I had all kinds of insects, lizards, mice, a few birds. Owls don't seem to be particularly fussy eaters...but they DO prefer to kill their own prey...that was evident.


Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436673 02/17/19 10:38 PM
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How docile or wild/aggressive was he to deal with....


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

"You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436731 02/17/19 11:27 PM
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up

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436734 02/17/19 11:31 PM
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Good job!


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: SnakeWrangler] #7436746 02/17/19 11:43 PM
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Originally Posted by SnakeWrangler
Originally Posted by 2Beez
That is awesome!!! Nice work Sir cheers


Absolutely beautiful.....


Majestic predator up


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436754 02/17/19 11:46 PM
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they are good for cat control...


hold on Newt, we got a runaway
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: colt45-90] #7436758 02/17/19 11:48 PM
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Originally Posted by colt45
they are good for cat control...


Yup....redtails are pretty good too....we have both in our neighborhood.....stray cats not so much.... cheers


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

"You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436809 02/18/19 12:44 AM
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Owls are neat, good job on helping that one.



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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: dogcatcher] #7436819 02/18/19 12:57 AM
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Originally Posted by dogcatcher
Good job!

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: SnakeWrangler] #7436856 02/18/19 01:32 AM
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Originally Posted by SnakeWrangler
Originally Posted by colt45
they are good for cat control...


Yup....redtails are pretty good too....we have both in our neighborhood.....stray cats not so much.... cheers


My kind of birds.
The coyotes helped thin out the cats around here, I never thought I would appreciate a coyote.
Excellent photos flintknapper up


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Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: Simple Searcher] #7436894 02/18/19 02:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Simple Searcher
Originally Posted by SnakeWrangler
Originally Posted by colt45
they are good for cat control...


Yup....redtails are pretty good too....we have both in our neighborhood.....stray cats not so much.... cheers


My kind of birds.
The coyotes helped thin out the cats around here, I never thought I would appreciate a coyote.
Excellent photos flintknapper up


I put up 10 bird feeders, a deer feeder, and a salt lick behind the house....2.5 acres just outside the city limits with 1/2 the back property line being a creek.....we get hogs, deer, coyotes, bobcats, coons, possums, rabbits, tree rats, and lots of birds.....

Have a pair of Harris Hawks nest and hunt in our yard.....cats, tree rats, and collared dove get hammered.... cheers


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

"You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: SnakeWrangler] #7436914 02/18/19 02:25 AM
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Originally Posted by SnakeWrangler
How docile or wild/aggressive was he to deal with....


Made loud hissing sounds and 'popped' his beak together with a rapid (chop-chop-chop) sound when I first tried to get him out of the fence and first few times I approached him to feed him.

He would also spread his wings out and puff up his feathers trying to look larger and more ferocious. But he never offered to use his talons when I would check to see how his injury was healing.

I would say after the first 4-5 days of feeding him...he quieted down and seemed accepting of his situation, though he ALWAYS turned to face me when I approached.

I never once saw him drink any water from the large shallow pan I kept in his quarters. I think they must get most of the fluids they need from the prey they consume, I don't really know.

Beautiful bird. I've witnessed hawks catch and kill prey many times (rabbits, squirrels, snakes) but never seen an owl take anything in the wild. I can only tell you they don't play around when they eat. I think now....after watching this one dispatch mice and small birds, they must be removing the heads of small prey as a quick method of killing it.

The only larger thing I ever put in with him was a cottontail I had shot. He didn't seem all that interested in it. He did go to it and grab it with the talons of one foot....but he never dismembered or ate it.

The next day it was covered in fire-ants and I had to dispose of it.


Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7436920 02/18/19 02:30 AM
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Thanks....great story....thanks for posting!

I rehabbed a bobcat once, ONCE!..... bang


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

"You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7437012 02/18/19 04:23 AM
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Great story!

Re: Great Horned Owl [Re: flintknapper] #7438341 02/19/19 02:12 PM
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That's awesome! He sure is a beautiful bird! And those "horns" or whatever they are, look like they have hair on them....that's so cool. Exactly what is that, lol? I know it ain't his ears, lol. Surely? I haven't ever been that close to one. I see them flying around or sitting in a tree sometimes. I had a screech owl land on my porch once. That was cool as heck
He landed on a rail, facing away from me...then rotated his head all the way around behind him, lol. That was an exorcist move if I ever seen one.


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