Posted on 11/15/2019 12:42:20 PM PST by C19fan
Crime Stoppers had a reward out for the bad actor(s).
I connected Texas Parks & Wildlife to the Hood County Sheriff Dept. They determined that a owl was eating people's cats
Crime Stoppers called me back and said no crime, no reward.
Not barn owls. They weigh less than 2 lbs and prey on voles, mice and rats.
Great horned owls more likely. They weigh up to 4 lbs with the females being the heaviest. They prey on assorted rodents, snakes, rabbits, squirrels and even skunks.
I guess it matters whether you are figuring on body or feathers. Barn Owls are much bigger than crows, all around - taller, longer, body-size-wise; wing span may be slightly longer in crows.
The two birds are about the same length - but the tail on a crow is about half of his overall length. Owl is a lot more hefty.
Owl is also a lot more deadly in the mouth parts and claws, and in the stealthy ability to sneak up on prey.
Barn Owls are the weirdest, but I think Barred Owls are the cutest...I watch them every year (I’m partial to the brown-eyed owls):
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/barred-owls/
No such thing as a Barn Owl big enough to get a barn cat. They weigh less than 2lbs. Barn owls will kill and eat more vermin than any barn car will, though. They prefer human built structures for nesting.
The Barred Owl is a bit bigger than a Barn Owl- a little over 2 lbs, but they prefer swampy areas where they can catch not just mice and rats but crayfish, frogs, snakes, etc. They will nest in a box but usually find their own hollow in a tree, or duke it out with a squirrel or hawk to get their nest if they cannot find a hollow tree or abandoned nest. Barred owls are the ones that say “who cooks for you, who cooks for you-aaaaallllll.” When nesting they raise hell and sound like something from the deepest darkest jungle.
The only owl that is going to tame a shot at a cat would be a Great Horned Owl a/k/a the “hoot owl”. They eat bugs, frogs, mice, like other owls do, but also squirrels, skunks, and in the north where these owls are bigger, sometimes even porcupines, if easier prey is scarce. They weigh 3.5 to 4 lbs and have a wingspan of 3 to 5 feet. Females being much bigger than males. Snowy owls are slightly heavier but don’t come too far south most of the time. Great horned owls often nest in trees that have been topped, in hollow trees, in hawks’ and eagles’ nests, and in rare cases old barns or human structures.
That was the sound they make when they are scared.
This is their normal call when they aren’t scared:
Here’s barred owls ‘laughing’ in the dark. It’s awesome to hear in person: https://youtu.be/DzhSxhhAYbE
That’s fascinating. I’ve only heard the ‘who-cooks-for- you’ - and only on the web.
We have hawks here occasionally, but I’ve never heard any owl in my own neighborhood.
Thanks!
There are some good nest box plans for all owl types that you can use to bring them to your yard.
Yes, barn owls are stocky, crows are lean. You cannot hear a barn owl fly (that may be true of all owls). My cousin and I had four. We fed them jackrabbits we shot on the rimrock in southern Idaho. We had to cut the rabbits up to feed them. It was such a chore going out to hunt rabbits every day with our .22s. We loved it!
Well, if you want to keep a raptor, and don’t want to deal with all of that FUN - you can buy frozen weanling rodents, or chicks. Keeping a stock of those in your freezer is a lot more reliable these days, than relying on your gun :-)
This was in the late 50s and there were so many jackrabbits that they were considered a pest. My uncle would take us out to the desert and we’d ride on the fenders of his pickup and see maybe 4 or 5 sitting within easy range each time we stopped. We (my cousin and I) were maybe 12 years old and did not look upon this as a chore at all.
But when summer was over, I took my owl on the train in a big cardboard box back to Southern California. My dad let me keep it for only a couple of days before he made me turn it loose. He said he wasn’t buying hamburger for some owl.
“They hiss like snakes.”
So do nesting ducks.
“They hiss like snakes.”
So do fallen angels.
Did Eve say it hissed?
Got your point though...He is good and faithful to His children....
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