We got a surprize....Barn Owls...

[bentalphanerd]

Bent, that bird looks like he is hunting cut worms....do you know what kind it is?....kinda resembles a brown thresher we have here in the states...

quick google...(yeah i know slack, i was always going to find out what it was but...)

its a Goshawk of some kind. Bit hard to tell what flavor because it was really young (calling to mum for a feed) & not a very good hunter (theres lizards everywhere in that patch) It spent some time trying to pull a big red chilli off a plant then hopped into the next yard, got hassled by Indian Minors & took off.

Bit hard to tell in the pic but it's about 18 to 22" long

 

[AlabamaJack]

thats gonna be one big bird....very pretty markings....

 

[bentalphanerd]

Gotta be cool to have owls around. That thing DD posted looks like something out of star wars lol.
We're right next to a big creek & parkland here (swamp, then built over, flooded out & washed away in '74, now its a park with pipes under) Get all kinds of birdlife ducks, eagles, hawks, kingfishers, ibis, galahs, honeyeaters...everything but owls lol

got my birdbath set up under the native trees & can sit there & watch them all come through in the afternoon for a dip. Never get tired of that.

 

[GrumpyBear]

i have big round eyes and the kids used to call me owl-eyes so my mom bought me an owl stuffed animal so i wouldn't get a complex about it i guess, so i used to love owls but now they freak me out cuz everytime i see them at the fair or in a zoo they seriously stare me down. i'll be in a crowd of friends and they just follow me with their stare (and they apparently can't turn their eyes but can turn their heads really far around and it looks really creepy when they do that staring at you, trust me...)

 

[chuk hell]

Great pics there AJ.



There was a little Screech Owl that used to hang out in our back yard. He would hang around at night while I was running the smoker.

Here's a picture of it my wife snapped. The little guy seemed to have no fear of us or our dogs.

Owls are cool. They are considered symbolic of death in many cultures.

 

[chilehunter]

nice pictures you all posted

I like birds of prey, I've had hawks & owls zip right by me (within in 5 feet)or fly right towards me & turn when only finding out what I am. alot of these are while in the woods hunting.
had a barred owl perch about 10 feet in front of me (this was really cool because it stayed there for about 30 seconds)
walked upon a adult great horned owl in the woods once, thats was really cool too.
hawks are in full force right now, have red tail hawks nesting in the treeline of the property, had a redtail hawk turn tail (in flight) & chase another smaller bird in my backyard - this was cool to watch but that small bird got away somehow

have a year round breeding pair of bald eagles about 1 min from the house, plus other eagles that are around all year. saw a turkey vulture today while working.

this state has plenty of birds of prey (several kinds of owls & hawks) which is great so ya can see & watch them.

 

[Omri]

Haven't seen any barn owls in years. seem to have disappeared for some reason.