The coolest thing< when a owl attacks>

ok i know this isnt herp related but i was pretty sure theres not many bird readers here lol no offense to any that are.
well out side my snake building theres a very large popular tree tha stands out side about 8 feet , for the last few nights when i go out to tmy house i have noticed a very LARGE owl perching in a low hanging limb.I have been noticing his boldness to not really shy away when i walk out if i am quiet he just turn his big majestic head and looks at me to see what / who i am .This has lead me to beleive that he may be hanging out due to the rats i also breed in my building as there is a gable vent that sits about 10 feet from his limb , well i opened my door a few minutes ago and like clock work there he sat he slowly turned his head but this time was different.. i had my sony digi cam with me and it has night vision capability. so i started rolling film i sat in the door and watched him as he watched me . i then walked back to the rat rack and yeah you know whats coming next lol grabbed a old male breeder rat from the tray ... walked back to the doorway and tossed the rat out in the yard .... it was the most amazing sightto see this huge owl in action .. he swiftly turns his head 180 degrees and spotted the rat hit the ground ... then he arched his huge wings and just dropped off the limb and BAMB was on the ground hitting the rat with what looked like a 20 MPH hit lol i barely kept him in the lens while he did this . soon as he hit the rat theres a loud squeal from the rat and this owl just sat there and proceeded to rip the rat apart , he even allowed me to walk with about 10 feet of him before he grabbed his midnight snack and retreated to the woods beside my building . Im not 100% sure of the type but it is a very very very LARGE Owl in the street light i could see that he was brown / white sort of calico looking i couldnt tell if it was a horned owl or not . i think im going to have to increase the rat production now since he seems to be very at ease with some one watchiong him i plan to do more videos of the awsome animal in action as long as he allows me to and doesnt decide to make me part of his meal lol .
I would say wing tip to wing tip he has about a easy 5-7 foot wing span . im no owl expert so if anyone knows what he might be let me know .. if i can get him with the digital camera i will post a picture of him one night. take care and i just wanted to share this it was very freaking cool

AWESOME!

That's just awesome. I love to watch predator/ prey in action. Man if youu could post some pics on here I'd be happy to go though Sibley's and try to ID it. I believe Horned Owls have two tuffs of feathers on the head giving name to 'horned owl'. If you get some cool shots feel free to email them to me any at [email protected] Thanks, Mike B.

Hey there Mike well i found the owl

I was sitting at the PC and heard them calling out just a few minutes ago ( 2 am ) lol unforunately he / she wasnt in the same tree as usall but were very close by its definately a pair that live close by me here and a few around as well i could here 3 distinct calls being made after cheking on my website i found for OWl's in N.America i have made the determination by there calls which is amazingly accurate that they are or well atleast the one i heard was a Barred Owl (Strix varia georgica ). whats really cool at this website Owl calls
the calls really do work as i opened my window and placed my speaker in the window seal i hit the play button for the calls ... well after only two attepts the owls called back with 2 good hoots. From the info providied on the site it was as i figured i had noticed many spots in the back yard where mole have made miles of tunnels but there have been many spots where the tunnells have been busted open which leads me to beleive that this awsome owl has been using the tree that overlooks my yard right in front of my building as a perch in which to hunt from . as Moles are a listed prey item. now i am really looking forward to getting pictures of this owl / owls and seeing if i can get them to be a nightly visitor here i sleep with my windows open alot and it will be nice to listen to them call lol ok im done just thought i would lewt you know what i found out ... rest assured i will get pictures sooner or later and post them here . thanks for you reply and interest Mike '

later
Alan

About 2 weeks ago we had what I think was a Peregrine Falcon in the middle of our backyard, sitting on the ground eating another bird. I got a few pics but have not yet finished the role. When they are developed I will ID the raptor and post a pic. It was pretty neat to watch, and not something you see everyday just abou 8 miles outside of NYC on Long Island.

Well I got those pics back, not great but ok, taken really fast with grainy film. Anyone out there know what kind of hawk this could be?


I guess it is not as exciting as seeing an owl hit its prey but it was exciting especially for around these parts. I remember seeing some really large owls when I was in the Border Patrol years ago. One of em scared the hell out of me when I was searching through a wall of bailed hay looking for illegals. Darned thing came out of a space between two bales of hay as I was shining my light around. I thought it was something out of a Steven King book when it puffed it its white feathers around the face and made a screech - and when it spread its wings a bit, man it was big. I wish I had that one recorded as a Kodak moment, both the owl and me!

Try to get some pics of that owl, that would be nice.


Best regards,
Glenn B

I'll answer my own question - I am fairly certain its a Sharp Shinned hawk.

Hey Glenn!

Nice Cooper's Hawk! Hope that helps! Ray G. HBR

What makes you think this is a Cooper's Hawk anmd not a Sharp Shinned Hawk? They look extremely similar, but from what I could gather the round head shape at the back of the head, and the fact that the nape is the same color as the head indicates a Sharp Shinned - I did lots of homework since I last posted my question - by I am still open to corrections. Thanks

Owl Update..

Well since that night i have not seen the Owl back in the tree , two nights after it rained real heavy and i guess he stayed at home lol , i did how ever here him/her and a few others calling a few nights after that night but walked out to look and couldnt seethem but they were close . I still have the camera on hand and eargerly await the return