Bubo!

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 04/15/2019 at 22:20 • Filed to: None

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Bubo virginianus

Urban life is weird. I opened my window a couple of minutes ago to better hear a great horned ow l, only to notice a police car with lights flashing parked across the street, near where a kid was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Stay safe, and don’t forget to stop occasionally and appreciate the world around you.

facw > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2019 at 22:37

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Terrible picture of one here (I couldn’t find my 55-300, and my 18-55 was at my parents’ , so I had to shoot with my 35mm lens, which was not optimal):

I hear them a lot, but it’s pretty rare to actually see them. They are impressively big with their wings spread (that “Great” is definitely not for show).

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2019 at 22:38

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A few times last year we had an owl hooting outside the house. I managed to catch a glimpse of it once or twice. Pretty neat stuff.

Not long after we got married. Mrs. BaconSandwich and I camped out at my grandparent’s old farm.  We counted 3 different great horned owls in the space of maybe 30 minutes.  Tons of mice out there, so I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised.

Just Jeepin' > facw 04/15/2019 at 22:40

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Those talons are nothing to fuck with, either.

Just Jeepin' > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/15/2019 at 22:42

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Very cool. I caught a glimpse of one at dusk near my house years ago, but that was the only one I’ve ever seen.

I did see a medium-sized owl (probably B arred) flying above me in the same direction I was driving, back when I had my del Sol. I love driving topless, so much more to see a round you.

DipodomysDeserti > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2019 at 22:45

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I have a family of red tailed hawks in my neighborhood . Love watching those guys. Once w atched one take a pigeon right of the sky.

Just Jeepin' > DipodomysDeserti 04/15/2019 at 22:52

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I’ve had B roa d-winged hawks and Cooper’s (or Sharp-shinned, nearly indistinguishable) in my yard, but I’ve never seen a red-tailed, although they’re common around here.

Never seen one snag a bird, but I’ve found plenty of rabbit parts and feathers underneath their favorite tree.

facw > DipodomysDeserti 04/15/2019 at 23:06

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When I lived in New York I a red-tail in Central Park perched atop a pigeon which was still alive, but obviously not at all happy with its lot in life.

The best adapted ones in NYC hunt only birds, the ones that hunt rodents tend to die young because the rats/mice are sometimes poisoned, but not dead from it yet, and end up poisoning the hawks. The most famous is Pale Male, who has lived in the city for nearly 30 years (he was among the first modern hawks to try living in the city), and is an accomplished pigeon hunter.

smobgirl > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2019 at 23:44

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I think this might beat facw for a terrible owl photo  but this burrowing owl I saw in TX had some great camouflage. 

Just Jeepin' > smobgirl 04/15/2019 at 23:49

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How in the world did you spot that? The photo practically needs a circle and arrow.

smobgirl > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2019 at 23:54

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I mean I saw them in real life and thought “hey, I need a picture of these guys!” But they wouldn’t let me get any closer and I think their camo messed with the digital zoom a little bit. That  horrible evidence is all I got.

vicali > smobgirl 04/16/2019 at 11:06

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These guys are the funniest, our kids love them at the Wildlife Park;

They are always trying to judge distance and perspective so they move their head all over;

vicali > Just Jeepin' 04/16/2019 at 11:08

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Owls are one of my favourite things to see , every year we travel north to the farm for a week and sitting around listening to the owls at dusk.