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Barn Owls (1 Viewer)

T

thefunkylobster

Member
One of the most amazing things ive ever seen is a Barn owl.
The first time I saw a barn owl I was out late one night in my garden when a Barn owl landed on my fence.
It seem magical. The barn owl looked straight at me and it seemed to sit there for ages before it flew off.
I was only standing a few metres away from it and it seemed huge. They are such beautiful birds of prey.
The funny thing was I didnt hear it fly or land on the fence. They are so quiet.
Ive only seen barn owls twice in the wild since and that was several years ago.
 
Hi Lobs,

Lucky you!

Owls have a special downy coating on their feathers which muffles sound almost perfectly, they have a very soft, 'furry' feel to them. That means they can hunt silently, and so both hear their prey well, and not give themselves away . . . a mouse caught by an owl usually never knows what hit it

Michael
 
Lobs, the same thing happened to me last year, one flew onto the neighbours fence. I managed a quick photo, unfortunately I didn't have my digital camera at the time.....
 

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Barn owls have to be my favourites. The best ever views I have had were in Norfolk a couple of years ago, up to five individuals at a time quartering over fields and flying to within a few feet of us.
Spotted another this weekend at Oare marshes, a bit distant but still a great bird.

Woody
 
I know I should look it up but I'm on my way out so maybe there will be an answer when I get back....when do owls nest usually.

I have access to an estate nearby that puts up lots of owl boxes and I was thinking of doing something on them next spring. I would like to fit a wireless IR Cam in one of the boxes over the winter.

I will run the power cable down the tree so that I can quietly connect up to a small battery and then connect the battery powered reciever to my DV camcorder which I will hide some distance away. I'll be able to run this on long play for a few hours and then return and remove it with no disturbance to the owls. I can then return home and put some video/stills on the website.
 
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thebirdcam said:
I know I should look it up but I'm on my way out so maybe there will be an answer when I get back....when do owls nest usually.

I have access to an estate nearby that puts up lots of owl boxes and I was thinking of doing something on them next spring. I would like to fit a wireless IR Cam in one of the boxes over the winter.

I will run the power cable down the tree so that I can quietly connect up to a small battery and then connect the battery powered reciever to my DV camcorder which I will hide some distance away. I'll be able to run this on long play for a few hours and then return and remove it with no disturbance to the owls. I can then return home and put some video/stills on the website.
Click to expand...

According to my reference book, the barn owl breeding season usually begins in April, but at times is as early as February. The season is prolonged, and often double brooded.

The tawny owl breeding season usually begins late March, but nearly a month earlier at times. Single-brooded.

Let me know if you'd like info about other owls.
 
Talking of `never knowing what hit it'
Some time back I rescued a small mouse off of my cat peanut and took it to the orchard at the bottom of the garden to release it. (next to the owl cage)

Hero (my tawny) watched the release with some interest ( one eye open. )
Finally the mouse dropped out of the tube, and instead of going forward into the orchard ran back straight into hero's cage !

In a flash hero leapt off his perch glided forward and dropped silently onto the hapless mouse that I had just rescued from the cat !.... :h?:

I am not afraid to admit that I had to leave as I couldn't bear the squeaks of the poor mouse caught in Hero's talons but I had, inadvertently just been treated to an actual kill by a captive bred tawny Something of a rarity I should imagine!
 
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thebirdcam said:
I know I should look it up but I'm on my way out so maybe there will be an answer when I get back....when do owls nest usually.

I have access to an estate nearby that puts up lots of owl boxes and I was thinking of doing something on them next spring. I would like to fit a wireless IR Cam in one of the boxes over the winter.

I will run the power cable down the tree so that I can quietly connect up to a small battery and then connect the battery powered reciever to my DV camcorder which I will hide some distance away. I'll be able to run this on long play for a few hours and then return and remove it with no disturbance to the owls. I can then return home and put some video/stills on the website.
Click to expand...


Dude, not a good idea. Its thought by 'certain' people that pheasants are dumb - but you will find that as soon ayou leave the kit, a pheasant will tap into your battery wire for the electricity to power its telly and shower heater.

However, you might get away with it. In which case, it would be cool!
 
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