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Subject: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Hootowl posted Sun, Oct 4 2009, 8:41am  Still an exciting sighting for me. As my screen name suggests, owls are my favorite family of birds. Over the years I have heard members of various species, including screech, great-horned, and barn owls. Have had a few fleeting glimpses of silent silhouettes flying away in the night. But I have never been able to actually check off one for my life list until last night. While grilling on my back patio, with an almost full moon, I see the shadow of something fly past my big apple tree. Next thing I know, a screech owl starts whinnying closer and louder then I have ever heard one. I slowly walk over to the tree, and about ten feet up see the outline of the owl perched on a dead stump of a limb about ten feet above my head. Without taking my eyes from it, I start whistling to my wife in the kitchen. She comes to the back door and I tell her to get the flashlight and quietly come out. When I turned the flashlight on, there perched a red-phased screech owl looking down on us like he (or she) didn't have a care in the world! We were able to watch it for about ten minutes, so close I could seed every detail of it's plumage. It finally flew on silent wings towards the big sugar maple in our front yard, where we lost track of it. Mysti and other birders on here can appreciate such a sighting. And it gave me some idea of what if must feel like to see a bird that is truly unidentifiable as belonging to any know species. Here's to there still being flying mysteries out there! Not the one I saw, but it's twin brother! Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Stu posted Mon, Oct 5 2009, 11:33am  Sounds like the kind of thing that'd have me wide-eyed too. Owls are my favourite birds, not only the birds themselves but the whole mythology that's (understandably) grown up around them. Good old Minerva. Meet some of the guys Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Hootowl posted Mon, Oct 5 2009, 2:45pm  Nice collection. Always been my favorite birds also. I have a goodly number of books, pictures and paintings of them, but never went the figurine route. My wife collects antique tea cups, which leaves little room for anything else in that vein. Not so much the mythology in my case, though I enjoy reading about their place in culture. I think I just like things that move around at night. I'm also fascinated with bats, and have spent a fruitless search this past summer trying to find the roost of the little brown bats I see flying over a field off the bike trail I frequent. No buildings near by, so I am guessing a small cave. Will try again next year. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Stu posted Tue, Oct 6 2009, 2:44pm  Is any handling of bats or their homes illegal there as it is here? I've always liked the wee guys, & seeing them batter madly around Whitby Abbey at twilight again recently was one of the highlights of the trip. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: EastTxSwamp posted Wed, Oct 7 2009, 1:53pm  It wouldn't surprise me if you can have one with a permit, like most other 'wild' animals. When I was a docent with the Ft. Worth Zoo I used to take owls out to schools and show them off. One time one got out its gesses at a synagogue and flew around the rafters for what seemed like forever. Swamp Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Jesse R posted Fri, Oct 9 2009, 7:17am  There is no way you can keep bats as pets. Maybe the flying fox but I think they evolved from a different ancestor. On a side note... we have tiny little bats, the size of a big moth between 5-10 cm in wingspan and they are nesting behind the boards of our outside wall. When we sit on the verandah we can see them using our verandah as an approach zone. They come flying full speed and the make a swift and sharp turn and disappear into a space, maybe half a centimeter wide , without ever hesitating. It truly is magnificent to see. Sometimes they get trapped in our bedroom though, and they hook on against the wall and walk their way out to a point from where they can take off and leave the room. I think cognitive thinking in animals is severely underestimated. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Hootowl posted Wed, Oct 7 2009, 2:44pm  Depends on whether they are listed as endangered or not, but for the most part, yes, hands off. I am just hoping to locate the roost for tracking purposes. The local Audobon Society and a local museum are both involved in bat conservation, and would be interested in anything I can turn up. Ironically, a local Boy Scout troop did a project a few years back and built about fifteen "bat houses", placing them along the Youghegeny river trail where I bike. There are plenty of bats, but I have never seen one go in or come out of any of the houses. This is what makes me think they have a cave or abandoned coal mine shaft somewhere. The area is riddled with old worked out mines, but so far I have been unable to locate any map showing me the shaft locations. The only one I have found so far is sealed up tight, too tight for even my little furry friends to get in or out. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: MizLinda posted Mon, Oct 5 2009, 3:43pm  What a cutie! Owls are fascinating aren't they. How much fun was that! We have two barn owl nests in our 100+ yo Sycamore tree and Great horned owls in the neighborhood (haven't seen them but hear their hootenannys often) My nemesis...MomOwl, caught unusually in daylight. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Hootowl posted Wed, Oct 7 2009, 2:54pm  I've heard wild barn owls, but have never actually seen one outside captivity. They are one of the handsomer owl species, in my opinion. Last winter there was a Snowy Owl sighted several times in, of all places, Point State park, which is entirely surrounded by downtown Pittsburgh. Go figure! Guess it is not surprising, given that Peregrine falcons have been nesting on top of the Cathedral of Learning at the Univ. of Pittsburgh for years. EarthCam - Falcon Cam Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: MizLinda posted Wed, Oct 7 2009, 3:08pm  Peregrines are taking to skyscrapers for nesting sites all over, there are several cam's, one in Seattle, one here in San Francisco, new york city has a red-tailed hawk. And yes, I agree the Barn Owl, despite their mundane name, are pretty. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: Kraken666 posted Mon, Nov 16 2009, 1:23pm  this may sound stupid but can you get barn owls in central scotland, i ask this because last january i was driving my bus down a country road at 4:30 in the morning when something white flashed across the windscreen, i think it was a barn owl but im not sure, gave me one hell of a fright Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: MizLinda posted Fri, Nov 20 2009, 4:59pm  It could very well have been. To the best of my knowledge they are near worldwide... see here... Common Barn Owl - Tyto alba - Information, Pictures, Sounds I have even seen them in Hawaii. My local inhabitant Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: cloudyboy87 posted Tue, Jan 5 2010, 3:09pm  I LOVE OWLS! We have several species here, we see them on our property a lot and we love them. My brother and I saw a HUGE Great Horned Owl in the spring, idk how big it was but at first we thought it was a vulture since it was so big. I wish I could have got a picture. I dont have an pics of our predatory birds, they're hard to photograph cuz I can't get very close and I don't have a telescopic lens. Also a Screech owl scared the heck out of my parents and their friends at our cabin. And we also have a good number of Barn owls, but I haven't seen any in a while, they don't mind you getting as close for some reason. I really want to photograph them. Subject: Re: Not a Cryptid, But... From: shadow18 posted Fri, Feb 5 2010, 9:59pm  you are right that has nothing to do with cryptids but that was...interasting but if you have an owl fly down at you wach every one you know the has given you some bad news

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