View Full Version : What sort of owl this might be ?
screeching owl
20-10-2007, 23:15
I saw something today that's bugging me. It was an owl bigger than any iv seen in the wild (England). It was massive with a wing span in excess of 3 foot and dark brown. I could not see any markings it seemed brown all over. It was deep in woodland and was an incredible sight to see about 70 yards from us. As we tried to follow it we heard its call which was a fairly deep sound. I cant forget the size of it. Anyone got an idea what sort of owl this might be ?
commandocal
20-10-2007, 23:31
Hmm teradactoyl? No sorry mate,i havnt even seen an Owl before.....
I saw something today that's bugging me. It was an owl bigger than any iv seen in the wild (England). It was massive with a wing span in excess of 3 foot and dark brown. I could not see any markings it seemed brown all over. It was deep in woodland and was an incredible sight to see about 70 yards from us. As we tried to follow it we heard its call which was a fairly deep sound. I cant forget the size of it. Anyone got an idea what sort of owl this might be ?
Eagle owl..?? http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/species/eagleowls.asp
No idea, but I have also seen a huge owl up here in Silkstone whilst out with Ratbag a few months back. Matt will confirm that it was massive!
Northern Giant UK
21-10-2007, 01:03
Hmmn, chzech "teet owl" perhaps?!?
http://www.chinohouse.com.au/skillsEDIT/clientuploads/45/TEA%20TOWEL.jpg
:lmao:
Kev
(I'll get me coat)
Hmmn, chzech "teet owl" perhaps?!?
:lmao:
Kev
(I'll get me coat)
Lol........
w00dsmoke
21-10-2007, 06:40
It's very hard to get proper scale in a woodland without a point of reference, but it sounds like it could be a Long Eared Owl... occassionally, birds come in darker colours, either partly melanistic or dark or light phase, tawny's often do.
GreenmanBushcraft
21-10-2007, 11:55
Sounds like a European Eagle Owl. They seem to be on the rise at the moment and will take animals up to the size of small deer and in some cases dogs! Quite a fuss about these at the moment. Lovely birds though, I used to work with them.
Kris
I have an European Eagle owl, a male called Dutch, he is about 15 years old. His wing span is about 5ft, he weighs 4lbs. He has got the most powerful talons, you have to wear strong gloves! He missed the glove once and got me in the arm :eek: would not want to repeat this! He is absolutely fearless. He also does not like our black lab, or any other dogs! or cats. and often slam the side of his aviary when said dog comes past,She has learned to ignore him now. The cats just don't go there!. I have no doubt he would kill the cats, they are scared of him. The females are much bigger and would definitely kill a small dog or cat, no problems, maybe even a lamb, but I don't think anything bigger. They are lazy as you can think of. When fed, they won't do anything, just sit on their branch until hungry again.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0236.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0237.jpg
Barn Owl
21-10-2007, 13:31
It's either a Tawny,Long Eared or Eagle if in woods,Short Eared are in open habitat.
You can get dark morphs in all spp.
Tawnys can appear quite large in flight at times.
Long Eareds usually remain motionless against the trunk of a tree during daylight.
Eagle owls are huge and although they use woodland i believe any in the UK are more apt to use open land.
Think of Tawny and Long Eared as about crow/rook size.
Eagles are about double that size.
Tom.
big_swede
21-10-2007, 14:18
I have an European Eagle owl, a male called Dutch, he is about 15 years old. His wing span is about 5ft, he weighs 4lbs. He has got the most powerful talons, you have to wear strong gloves! He missed the glove once and got me in the arm :eek: would not want to repeat this! He is absolutely fearless. He also does not like our black lab, or any other dogs! or cats. and often slam the side of his aviary when said dog comes past,She has learned to ignore him now. The cats just don't go there!. I have no doubt he would kill the cats, they are scared of him. The females are much bigger and would definitely kill a small dog or cat, no problems, maybe even a lamb, but I don't think anything bigger. They are lazy as you can think of. When fed, they won't do anything, just sit on their branch until hungry again.
Wow! That's really nice bird! I have very little experience in hawking and even less in, ehh, 'owling' (?). Can you use it for hunting?
Tell me more! Where do you get one? How huge is the aviary? Any more pictures??
Beautiful creature you have there Jojo....
screeching owl
21-10-2007, 15:34
After reading all your comments and following the link kindly submitted by Jon Pickett plus doing a little research of my own on the net I feel sure my sighting was that of an eagle owl. The size color and the call it made all match. I feel honored to have seen this bird especially as that owls are my favorite birds. I'm disappointed that I could not get my camera ready in time to share the photo with you all. But I stood stunned and I missed the chance. The wood I was walking in is rich in wildlife and food for such a bird. There is a small open conservation area near the woods and I bet this owl will make small fry of the local inmates. I may sleep over in this wood next weekend with a camera to see what I can photograph. Its times like this when bush skills come into use. I would rank this woodland as a prime location for the study of bushcrafts and wildlife. Thanks for all your post.
screeching owl
21-10-2007, 15:52
Good one that Northern Giant UK have you heard this one ?
Whats red and sits in a tree ?..........A sanitary towel.
Ok I will get my coat too.
Wow! That's really nice bird! I have very little experience in hawking and even less in, ehh, 'owling' (?). Can you use it for hunting?
Tell me more! Where do you get one? How huge is the aviary? Any more pictures??
Theoritically,yes you can. Some hunts in England use them. I believe this more to circumvent the new laws on hunting with dogs: they can claim that they used the dogs to flush the foxes for the Eagle Owl to catch, but that if the dogs kill the foxes "by accident" they can't be prosecuted for hunting with dogs. A female Eagle Owl could take a small fox, but given the choice between a fox and a rabbit they much prefer the rabbit!
I am affraid I don't know where you could get one in Sweden. There are breeders who sell them on the internet, I believe. We got ours from a bird of prey centre that had to close near us. My daughter used to first volunteer there then worked there for a while. When they had to close, we ended having Dutch.
His aviary is not that big, about 2.5 m wide, 3.50m long and 2.5 m high, with a double door at the back, to prevent possible escape. Though I think he is too lazy to do that!
I'll get some more pictures in the next few days.
After reading all your comments and following the link kindly submitted by Jon Pickett plus doing a little research of my own on the net I feel sure my sighting was that of an eagle owl. The size color and the call it made all match. I feel honored to have seen this bird especially as that owls are my favorite birds. I'm disappointed that I could not get my camera ready in time to share the photo with you all. But I stood stunned and I missed the chance. The wood I was walking in is rich in wildlife and food for such a bird. There is a small open conservation area near the woods and I bet this owl will make small fry of the local inmates. I may sleep over in this wood next weekend with a camera to see what I can photograph. Its times like this when bush skills come into use. I would rank this woodland as a prime location for the study of bushcrafts and wildlife. Thanks for all your post.
Sounds like a good place you have found. Well done on spotting the eagle owl, they are amazing birds, my favourite is the Makinda eagle owl they are stunning, very powerfull creatures my uncle has one called smokey. Good luck spotting it again if you camp out next weekend you will have to post the pics if you get lucky.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb268/SOAR_2007/smokey3.jpg
Smokey.
Simon.
The last time i saw an owl like that i was just walking out onto a field from a small wood at around dusk. Just as i entered the field i felt something over my head and as i looked up i had to duck :eek: as i ducked i saw a huge owl fly just over my head it was amazing !
The owl then flew silently about a meter above the grass on the hunt it was an absolutely amazing site.
I suppose they are difficult to keep as pets or working animals? I would love to be able to train birds of prey.
The one that I saw, well, I didn't really see it at first, I just got a feeling. I turned and there it was, silently gliding over our heads. I lit up the one million candle torch and Ratbag and I watched the owl fly across the field, not a single flap of his wings, and settle into a large tree. The perfect hunter.
I suppose they are difficult to keep as pets or working animals? I would love to be able to train birds of prey.
The Eagle Owl is not particularly difficult to keep, but you need a licence to keep one. It is also advisable though to take a short course in care of these birds, they are not your ordinary pets and have particular needs, with food, supplements, care of talons and beaks, weighing regularly, maintenance & making of jessies, flying that sort of thing. Ours was rescued by the police from a house where he had been kept illegally in a back room for years by drug addicts :twak: :twak: . The poor thing did not even know how to fly when they delivered him to the bird of prey centre, he used to hop behind the trainer there. He had to be taught to fly and apparently took a long time to learn.
I saw a number of birds of prey at Oldcotes carboot sale. Don't worry, they weren't for sale! The guy rescues them, barn owls apparently fly over hedges between fields and stay close to them and then drop right down as they clear the hedge. Often though, there is a road on the other side of the hedge and many get killed or injured this way. He takes the injured owls in and cares for them. He also has rescued kestrels, one was injured and the other was also kept by druggies to try and hunt for food for them! I hope they enjoyed eating mice!
He also had a Harris Hawk, and he told me that of all the birds he had with him that day, the Harris was the only one he had that could be kept without a licence. Native BOP need to have a licence, but if you have a BOP from another country, you don't need one.
I saw a number of birds of prey at Oldcotes carboot sale. Don't worry, they weren't for sale! The guy rescues them, barn owls apparently fly over hedges between fields and stay close to them and then drop right down as they clear the hedge. Often though, there is a road on the other side of the hedge and many get killed or injured this way. He takes the injured owls in and cares for them. He also has rescued kestrels, one was injured and the other was also kept by druggies to try and hunt for food for them! I hope they enjoyed eating mice!
He also had a Harris Hawk, and he told me that of all the birds he had with him that day, the Harris was the only one he had that could be kept without a licence. Native BOP need to have a licence, but if you have a BOP from another country, you don't need one.
Looks like I know what I want for Crimbo then....... A turkey vulture.:D
I lit up the one million candle torch .
Crikey, that must of used up a lot of matches.....:D
One of my favourite wildlife moments was watching 2 barn owls hunting in a field....
They are awsome....
RobertRogers
22-10-2007, 16:24
Up here in the Northern US we get the huge snowy owls that come down from the arctic in the winter
RobertRogers
22-10-2007, 16:25
Make for good eating (just kidding).
Snowy owls are stunning birds you are very lucky.
Simon.
big_swede
22-10-2007, 17:51
I am affraid I don't know where you could get one in Sweden. There are breeders who sell them on the internet, I believe. We got ours from a bird of prey centre that had to close near us. My daughter used to first volunteer there then worked there for a while. When they had to close, we ended having Dutch.
I got so inrigued by Dutch that I had a look around to see if it was possible to have an owl for pet or hunting comrade here. Well, maybe I'm naive but if one is allowed to have a nocturnal mammal predator (eg. a cat) one could have a nocturnal bird of prey. But as the swedish government, the current, and all before, are real pansies (rant) any form of falconry and raptor keeping is strictly forbidden. Has been so since the 60s. Because it was thought that poachers were stealing eggs and juveniles (yeah, wild caught birds are really easy to train aren't they?), and that this was causing the drop in raptor numbers. It later turned out to be DDT causing all the trouble, but since then the bird populations have recovered. But of course it's still illegal to keep birds of prey. I'm so angry right now, not just because of ths, but everything I like is either forbidden or frowned upon. I'm movin'! :banghead:
I got so inrigued by Dutch that I had a look around to see if it was possible to have an owl for pet or hunting comrade here. Well, maybe I'm naive but if one is allowed to have a nocturnal mammal predator (eg. a cat) one could have a nocturnal bird of prey. But as the swedish government, the current, and all before, are real pansies (rant) any form of falconry and raptor keeping is strictly forbidden. Has been so since the 60s. Because it was thought that poachers were stealing eggs and juveniles (yeah, wild caught birds are really easy to train aren't they?), and that this was causing the drop in raptor numbers. It later turned out to be DDT causing all the trouble, but since then the bird populations have recovered. But of course it's still illegal to keep birds of prey. I'm so angry right now, not just because of ths, but everything I like is either forbidden or frowned upon. I'm movin'! :banghead:
Soorry to hear this Big Swede. I didn't have a clue. It sometimes seems it does not matter where you turn, whatever you want to do is, as you say, banned or frowned upon. I am also feeling really blooming fedup tonight. Not a big deal but I have read on Yahoo that the hose pipes ban laws are going to change, it will no longer be legal to fill your pond during "droughts". So what? most people would say, but I like our ponds, we've got two fairly small ones but they are full of wild life, newts, frogs, lots of different insects, dragonfly visit and lay eggs, lots of birds use it for bathing & drinking, even had a grass snake in them this year. Most "droughts" are made worse by mismanaging water companies. So I am just :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Soorry to go off topic here. I am going to take some more pictures of Dutch in the next few days, the weather is horrid and gloomy and grey today (just like I am feeling) not good for pics.
We live not far from a nature reserve and there are some beautiful Barn Owls there too, I'll see if I can get some pics when I go there.
On a positive note, Big Swede, Sweden at least has more "wild land" than we have here, I believe, compared to us here, at least I hope so, mate.
probably an eagle owl ive spotted two once on my washing line they lived near cos u could hear em at night and my wife saw 1 pick up a cat ive seen 1 in scotland whilst camping.also i have a rhodesian ridgeback named dutch
Rhodesian ridgeback, is that the breed of dog they hunt lions with?
I think I might have this wrong again, but is an owl not an actual bird of prey? Or is it not a raptor? Can't remember which, but it may be a way around the law for Big Swede. As for the hose pipe ban, set up a water butt at your gutters' down pipe and if your hose pipe was to accidentaly top that up, who would see?
;)
I think I might have this wrong again, but is an owl not an actual bird of prey? Or is it not a raptor? Can't remember which, but it may be a way around the law for Big Swede. As for the hose pipe ban, set up a water butt at your gutters' down pipe and if your hose pipe was to accidentaly top that up, who would see?
;)
Both terms are pretty much interchangeable, owl are (mainly) nocturnal hunters as opposed to the diurnal hunters, like kestrels and falcons and so on..
I found that definition:
A raptor is a bird of prey. The word raptor comes from the Latin root that means "to seize and carry away", and is assigned to any bird that kills with its feet. Hawks, eagles, falcons, osprey, and owls are all raptors.
As to the ponds, it is more the principle of it that fished me off! It does not happen very often to have a hose pipe ban, but if those darned water company put their customer first for a change instead of their huge profits and fixed their leaky pipes!!!!No doubt i'll work out a water butt :D
Here are a few pics of Dutch. He now has his full winter plumage.
I am not the best of photographer! His eyes are actually bright orange
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0008-1.jpg
His talons are about 30 mm long, you don't want to be a rabbit.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0001-3.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0016-2.jpg
Ignoring us , he turned his head 180 degrees.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0007-1.jpg
His wings span is about 5 feet, 1.50 m.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/mollygypsy/DSCN0014-2.jpg
He's a good looking bird, looks like he is going to be nice and warm with that winter plumage.
wanderinstar
28-10-2007, 11:11
H2O,
"ive spotted two once on my washing line " Really, I would have thought that to see one in the wild was rare, But 2 on your washing line ! !
Going on the size of there feet I would have thought they would need something about 2" dia. to enable them to grip onto. Surely on a washing line they would just swing upside down.