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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 6, 2018 21:11:06 GMT -5
Had a visitor yesterday in our Arizona Cypress tree:
Fun to actually see him. All we usually hear is hooting at night sometimes.
ETA: Sorry for the crappy pics. Photography is not my strong suit.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 21:19:19 GMT -5
Nice pics. They do usually stay in denser cover. Keep the kitties and small dogs indoors until he leaves!
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Post by MsAli on Dec 6, 2018 21:26:05 GMT -5
Beautiful!
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 6, 2018 22:05:47 GMT -5
Beautiful horned owl.
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Post by aDave on Dec 6, 2018 22:51:33 GMT -5
We hear them all the time in the evening. Never have I seen one perched anywhere. Congrats for finding that guy.
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Post by woodman on Dec 6, 2018 23:08:56 GMT -5
I always like to hear them, music to my ears. Good photos of a hard to photograph bird.
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Post by Pat on Dec 7, 2018 0:34:04 GMT -5
Neat!
I don’t think we have ever heard an owl at night. We just get crickets.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,315
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Post by mossyrockhound on Dec 7, 2018 7:17:48 GMT -5
Neat pics! We have one in our woods we call "Big Al".
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Post by fernwood on Dec 7, 2018 8:16:09 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. I love horned owls. Yes, they are prone to killing smaller animals/birds, but so majestic.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2018 9:23:32 GMT -5
We hear them all the time in the evening. Never have I seen one perched anywhere. Congrats for finding that guy. Thanks!
The only reason I actually saw him was because I heard one of our Cooper hawks raising a ruckus and I was trying to find it to see what all the noise was about. They usually don't squawk that much and we usually just hear a distinctive cluck that they make when calling to each other. Looking for him I saw Hootie, which answered my question. Coop was sitting on a branch a little lower than Hootie and giving him the business. Hootie ignored him and finally Coop gave up. Hootie sat in that tree for hours and left just as it was getting too dark to see him.  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2018 9:27:47 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. I love horned owls. Yes, they are prone to killing smaller animals/birds, but so majestic. Yep, but the Coopers do the same thing. We did notice that we hadn't seen any of our bunnies during the day. We have a few that have their favorite spots to hang out on the property, so they were hiding. I welcome the rodent control (especially pack rats!) and have no problem with them keeping the dove population down. |
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Post by MsAli on Dec 7, 2018 10:49:58 GMT -5
Growing up back woods Minnesota we have owls, hawks, falcons, Ospreys and eagles.
I've never seen anything but an Eagle take a cat and a small dog. Both cases were pretty traumatic.
The owls like the smaller rodents, the falcons other birds, especially my dads chickens and the hawks love the bunnies. I've watched them get snakes too and thats pretty cool.
I love when the Peregrines come in, all of a sudden the other birds are gone and its dead silent.
The Ospreys hang out around the water and will come in pretty close if you throw them fish.
Nature will always alert you to whats going on, you just have to listen
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Win
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2017
Posts: 337 
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Post by Win on Dec 7, 2018 12:10:05 GMT -5
That's a great visitation! We have them in the area, I only got photos once.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2018 12:57:02 GMT -5
Growing up back woods Minnesota we have owls, hawks, falcons, Ospreys and eagles. I've never seen anything but an Eagle take a cat and a small dog. Both cases were pretty traumatic. The owls like the smaller rodents, the falcons other birds, especially my dads chickens and the hawks love the bunnies. I've watched them get snakes too and thats pretty cool. I love when the Peregrines come in, all of a sudden the other birds are gone and its dead silent. The Ospreys hang out around the water and will come in pretty close if you throw them fish. Nature will always alert you to whats going on, you just have to listen Here's a couple of videos Vince shot this year with the baby Coopers and the "corner bunny". Corner Bunny was not too impressed with the hawk babies. This was relatively soon after they had fledged. You have to watch the first one and then the second. Vince stopped filming too soon on the first one.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 7, 2018 13:07:19 GMT -5
That is too funny! Bunny DNGAF. Poor baby hawks
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2018 13:32:07 GMT -5
Growing up back woods Minnesota we have owls, hawks, falcons, Ospreys and eagles. I've never seen anything but an Eagle take a cat and a small dog. Both cases were pretty traumatic. Around here, Great Horned Owls probably take as many cats and small dogs as coyotes. Know that to the sorrow of myself and many others. Eagle kills of pets are rarer, but happen in daytime. Still, I definitely appreciate the good work of both - as well as our hawks and falcons - in keeping down the rodent populations. Corner Bunny was not too impressed with the hawk babies. The little hawk is definitely very focused on the rabbit, but needs a few lessons from mom and dad on how Coopers get 'em  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2018 17:14:59 GMT -5
This is the second year that pair of Coopers have nested in our trees. Both years after the chicks fledged, they were pretty much left alone to learn by themselves. Mom and dad hung around watching and protecting them and would give them food, but the hunting and flying skills looked to be pretty self-taught. Another video of the kids this year playing with the cypress balls. Vince and I both agreed that they were learning their grabbing prey skills doing this. The chicks last year did the same thing.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 7, 2018 17:24:43 GMT -5
I've been reading more about them. Apparently their main diet is medium sized birds. Young can leave the nest as early as 4 weeks.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 7, 2018 17:26:45 GMT -5
"A Cooper’s Hawk normally catches its prey with its feet and kills it by repeatedly squeezing it and holding it away from its body until it dies. They have also been seen drowning their prey, holding it underwater until it stops moving"
This explains their behavior in the video
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2018 19:59:49 GMT -5
I've been reading more about them. Apparently their main diet is medium sized birds. Young can leave the nest as early as 4 weeks. Doves are medium-sized. Sometimes we would see feathers falling from the trees onto the grass when the Coopers were having dinner. |
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