Had a interesting encounter hunting tonight!

AJRICH

FNG
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Messages
22
I was out trying to fill my ND whitetail buck tag tonight. When parking I noticed an owl on a post but didn't give him much attention as owls are pretty common in my area. As the night progressed he kept flying closer and closer to me and with about 15 minutes of light left he made the move and this was the end result! 20211110_174126.jpg20211110_174120.jpg20211110_174120.jpg20211110_174321.jpg
 

eamyrick

WKR
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
1,254
Location
Central Texas
Wow. I had one sitting on my feeder opening morning. He was as big as my Lab. I think he usually sits in my stand. I was worried he was gonna land on my head.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
4,973
Location
oregon coast
that's pretty dang cool! owls are super cool birds.... they make themselves mysterious... your pics are a great example of that!

they are certainly the most curious of people among the birds of prey
 

gabenzeke

WKR
Joined
Oct 28, 2015
Messages
1,117
That's awesome. I had one swoop in thinking I was going to be breakfast one morning in a deer stand. Almost had a heart attack.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

TheGDog

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Messages
3,263
Location
OC, CA
Either that or he desperately wanted a higher vantage point to view from in order to try to score an easier meal while there was still some light? (I know they're total Ninjas after dark, but still it's gotta be marginally easier to locate stuff while there's still some light.
 
OP
AJRICH

AJRICH

FNG
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Messages
22
That's awesome. I had one swoop in thinking I was going to be breakfast one morning in a deer stand. Almost had a heart attack.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Haha I know the feeling!
 

TheGDog

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Messages
3,263
Location
OC, CA
Very cool. I always like seeing owls.
Not to keen on seeing em, as that usually means the eCaller ad motion decoy are involved and I've heard several stories of Hawk and Owls stealing the furry toppers off MOJO's and flying far away with them.

I've not had that happen yet, but I have had a few Hawks try to bust a swoop on the topper. Seems like they quickly realize something ain't right
 
Last edited:

TheGDog

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Messages
3,263
Location
OC, CA
Yes, I lifted the rear of my rifle to hopefully make him leave but he didn't mind and hung on for the teeter totter ride!
OMG... that sounds just like the stupid Bobcat that stalked up onto me when I was sitting on a cliff over looking a creek on a sit for Bear, with my leafy suit on. First I threw a big dog growl at him.. nope.. just made his face get more excited like when you play with the feather with a regular cat.

Swung the .30-30 and pointed dead-on at his face, which was only 20-25feet away from me. Again.. same deal... his eyes widened up even more with that like pounce/excitement look.

I did these other things cause didn't want to have to move and blow my cover in case a Bear was finally advancing in on my location. I'd waited 3 hrs here for the sun to finally go down and the bugs to leave me alone. So didn't wanna blow my spot. Eventually had to begin to rise to my feet before he realized I was something big and that he should get outta Dodge.
 

eddielasvegas

WKR & Chairman of the Rokslide Welcoming Committee
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
3,082
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
If only there we two! If only there were two! :D

Very kewl pix and my first thought is s/he has learned to identify humans with handouts, but maybe it was just a curious and friendly owl?


Eddie
 

TheGDog

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Messages
3,263
Location
OC, CA
Not sure if it's all owl species, but I was reading about several species of owls where the hearing canals are assymmetrical on their skulls.... on purpose. along with certain curvatures of the bones in the face/head to funnel sounds to both of them. Apparently that configuration is what makes their ability to locate prey to swoop on at night be so acute. It makes sense when you see the diagrams of it. Fascinating adaptation.
 
Top