Help me figure out WHOO this is

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:55 pm

I don't know anything about birds!

Please save the "hooter" jokes, unless you are actually 12 years old.

A seige of herons:

And uh...the Santa Ana Suckerfish...not doing well.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:04 pm

My vote is for great horned owl. Good pics!

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:15 pm

cougarmagic wrote: A seige of herons:

CM, I also think that these dudes are great egrets... just a quick look. Not 100% sure, though.

Post by **HikeUp** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:30 pm

No doubt on both birds...they're gggrrreat! Mr. P has it right...Great Horned Owl and Great Egret.

That fish looks endangered or dead or both.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:45 pm

Thanks! My friend had heard this owl "screeching" at night, so we were thinking...screech owl...but this guy was BIG. At least 12" tall. And I read that the screech owls are much smaller. "Bubo Virginianus"

And yes - egrets! I wonder if they will migrate farther south in the winter, or maybe it stays warm enough here for them. We shall see... it was amazing to see them congregating like that. At one point we counted 12 of them! "Ardea Alba" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Egret

Post by **HikeUp** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:58 pm

cougarmagic wrote: I wonder if they will migrate farther south in the winter, or maybe it stays warm enough here for them.

Not sure Southern California Great Egrets are normal. Here's one near Windy Gap (WTF?) last August...

Actually, they are year round here.

Vermenton · Post by **Vermenton** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:29 pm

Great horned owl for sure

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:08 pm

Are Bubo jokes OK?

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:28 pm

PackerGreg wrote: Are Bubo jokes OK?

Yes, because that would be scientific. 'Bubo jobs' some might say.

norma r · Post by **norma r** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:34 am

Great Horned Owls don't screech. Young GH owls can make a screeching sound. But a true screech comes from a Screech Owl. No longer my friend after they made a nest in my chimney.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:33 pm

Norma, barnies can screech like hell, too

(barn owls)

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:29 pm

Is a group of egrets called a siege as well? If they don't already have a peculiar collective description, I hereby coin the the phrase "an ingress of egrets".

norma r · Post by **norma r** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:55 pm

Mike P wrote: Norma, barnies can screech like hell, too
(barn owls)

yes, i know but i have have Screech Owls. Barn's have that flat face, often white. Screech look similar to a Great Horned but smaller. Ever since we repaired the screen on my chimney the screeching and their numbers dwindled considerably. seems i had "a village" nesting and performing satanic rituals in my chimney. at least that's what it sounded like.

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:13 pm

Somewhere I read (I think it was the Audubon Field Guide to Western Birds) a likening of the primary Western Screech Owl call to the sound of a ping-pong ball being dropped on a table

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/West ... Owl/sounds

norma r · Post by **norma r** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:05 pm

the ones that roost in my hood, scream/screech. no ping-ponging going on here.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:55 pm

norma r wrote:
Mike P wrote: Norma, barnies can screech like hell, too
(barn owls)
yes, i know but i have have Screech Owls. Barn's have that flat face, often white. Screech look similar to a Great Horned but smaller. Ever since we repaired the screen on my chimney the screeching and their numbers dwindled considerably. seems i had "a village" nesting and performing satanic rituals in my chimney. at least that's what it sounded like.

That's very cool to have screech owls nesting at your house! I don't see too many of them around my place.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 1:48 pm

Mike P wrote: That's very cool to have screech owls nesting at your house!

Aw, Norma - no one is feeling your pain! haha.

A friend of mine once had a woodpecker take up residence on the outside wall of his apartment. The manager installed metal flashing to keep him away, but he was undeterred. Every morning at dawn - CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG. It was funny - to everyone who didn't live with it!

norma r · Post by **norma r** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:06 am

cougarmagic wrote: Aw, Norma - no one is feeling your pain! haha.

yeah, i get no respect

Seriously CM, they would catch bunnies and bring them into the chimney where they would.... The sound of the bunnies screaming like babies was awful. Plus my chimney is lined with metal so the event included the sound of a tussle against the metal... You can imagine.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:01 am

Norma-

Put a cap on your chimney:

Problem solved! there are flat chimney caps as well.

Post by **Taco** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:39 pm

Dood Norma that sounds pretty awesome!!!!