This is the sound that woke me up last night

[curly_kate]

Holy cow! I just played that and scared the crap out of my cat! DH & I have been hearing this weird bird call in the evening that sounds kind of like a horse neighing. Turns out it was a screech owl.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I actually saw my first one a few weeks ago in, of all places my back yard! (so apparently there are some around here in Westchester) It was probably Saw Whet, as it was quite small. In fact, until I focused on it, I thought it was a squirrel who was facing away from the window with it's tail up (until it started flapping) Originally I thought it might be a juvenile, given how grey and fuzzy it looked, but it could (and did) fly so presumably it was mature Stayed on that dead branch for almost and hour (well on a couple of perches, but it didn't move far) then flapped off down into the scrub below our back yard.

 

[digitS']

I once pulled the blinds to greet the day and a Saw Whet was sitting on a tree branch in my then front yard, looking in.

This was in town and I was probably 4 miles from a forest, altho only a mile or so from a river.

Owls have a lot of "fluff." It's probably a reason that they fly quietly and unheard by their prey.

The next time you drag your whetstone across your saw, @Pulsegleaner , you will know what the Saw Whet sounds like, I guess.

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Oh I forgot, while I never SAW it, I have to assume one made a visit to my grade school playground back when I was in 5th or so grade, because I found some owl pellets under one of the trees.

 

[Smart Red]

Did I ever tell ya'll about the time my BFFs and I were dropped off early one morning at a farm to wait for the furrier? It was cold with snowy, blizzard-like conditions ('course I was just a kid) and the three of us bundled up in the barn to await our early evening pick-up once the furrier was done.

Imagine our shock and fear when we heard someone snoring up in the hayloft! We decided to make the 6 mile trek back to town rather than spend the afternoon in a barn with some stranger.

Obviously we made it home. Some drifts were higher than my waist where we cut across fields, but because of the weather, the roads were little driven and passable. BFFs' dad was angry that we walked that far alone and even more so that we were afraid of a tiny little barn owl.

 

[rebbetzin]

I have a Horned Owl that lives in my big Pine Tree in the backyard.

 

[Smart Red]

This photo is posted on the POW thread, yes, @rebbetzin?

 

[Carol Dee]

I have a Horned Owl that lives in my big Pine Tree in the backyard. View attachment 8293

COOL

 

[catjac1975]

I have seen so few owls in my life. So beautiful!!!!

 

[thistlebloom]

A friend of mine lost a Jack Russel to one. It swooped down and picked the dog up right in front of the kids.