The Owl Pages Forum

Spacelordmother · Joined: 28 Jun 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Fort Worth, TX

I live in Fort Worth, Texas-on the edge of the suburbia where the 'country' begins. My neighborhood was a pecan 'plantation' up until the early 60's, so we still have lots of big pecans. That's the background...
For the past 4 nights, we have had owlets come and drink from the birdbath just off the kitchen door. The first night, we saw 2 and they stayed for about 5 minutes. The next night, they came back but stayed for a shorter visit. The 3rd night, we saw 3 in the birdbath and when they took off- a 4th followed, it must have been on the ground. Last night, all 4 were in the b.b. then flying around onto the fence and a crape myrtle and back again. They have arrived between 8:45 and 9 each night.
I looked at this site and others and am not sure if they are Great Horned or Western Screech. One of the babies has defined horns but they are still have a lot of down and are about 8 inches tall. They all appear to be strong flyers but we don't know how far they go when they take off. We've gotten a couple of photos but I don't think they're good enough to determine the species.
Any idea on how long they'll stay as a family unit or if they'll stay in the area once they take off on their own?

theowlette · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:16 am Post subject:

You'd be surprised... post your photos and I'm quite sure we'll be able to tell what kind of owl it is. Screech owls don't get close to 8 inches full grown, so I'd lean towards great horned just based on that information.

It sounds like they're starting to make it out on their own, so they'll probably stay on for a few more weeks before moving on.

owlpages · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:51 am Post subject:

Here is the picture Spacelordmother sent me by e-mail. i've cropped and brightened it. I agree with theowlette, 8 inches is a bit too big for screech owl.

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The Owl Pages

theowlette · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:20 am Post subject:

I still say great horned owlet, but I could be wrong.

owlboy · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:51 pm Post subject:

Wow! This is a tough one. The owlets are a little small for a Great-Horned Owlet. It is possible that it might be a Barred Owls. They have a round head. Great-Horned Owls usually have a boxier head. Would really like to see a picture of the face. Pictures taken at night will come up more gray, when they are actually red or rust in color. But, if they have ear tuffs, then it cannot be a barred owl.

Unusual for them to drink out of a bird bath. But, they do keep showing up.
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theowlette · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:56 pm Post subject:

Have you seen or heard the parents? That could help decide if it's barred or great horned.

mattintexas04 · Joined: 09 Sep 2009 Posts: 1

I am excited to have found this site, but I'm more excited to have seen this guy (girl) yesterday in my back yard. I too live in Fort Worth, around I-20 and Hulen, and was surprised to look up from my grill and notice something in the stand of post oaks that didn't belong. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an owl! That's when I found this site. I am very happy that it was there, because we have had a rat problem in the neighborhood, so hopefully it will stick around. Is there anything I can do to encourage it to stay? I was planning on trimming those oaks, but I won't do that for a while. Based on the comments below, I think it is a great-horned owelet. It's about 7" tall, and I definitely saw the ear tufts. Unfortunately the camera on my Blackberry isn't great, so I couldn't get a good picture. I hope it's there this evening. How do I post images?[/img]

owlboy · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:40 am Post subject:

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds more like a Screech Owl, then a Great Horned Owl. Great-Horned Owls are about 23 inches tall. Screech Owls look just like great-horned owls, but about 1/2 the size.

If it was a Great-Horned Owl, they would clear out the rats pretty quick. Screech Owls are pretty good predators, but rats are a little big for them. They might take their young ones.

To post your pictures, you need to upload them to a photo site, like webshots, kodak, photobucket, etc. Then you can link them to the site. If you have a problem linking it, just let us know and we can fix the link.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY

amoore · Joined: 29 Jul 2010 Posts: 1 Location: NRH, TX

I live in NRH, Tx. Northeast of Fort Worth.

I have a family visiting my backyard all the time. I have 4 young ones(grey) and 2 adults(brown). The grey ones look like the one you have on the birdbath. I have a large planter dish with water in by backyard. They come and get water, but they also eat there. I watched the adults catch bugs and then feed the young ones. They seem to have little fear. I can get within 5 feet of the adults and about 8 to 10 feet of the young ones.

I have had people tell me they are Eastern screech owls. Because they are the only little owl that lives in our area. I still have doubts. Mine don't have tufts on their head and the color of their beaks don't match the description of them. They also don't have the same markings on their face(white eyebrows).

Anyway, I have seen 1 or more of these owls in my yard for the last 5 or 6 years. They are about 8 inches tall and have a wingspan of 16 to 18 inches.

I have pictures and will try to post them in the photo gallery.

amoore
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owlboy · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject:

If you have brown and gray ones, then they are most likely Screech Owls. But, a picture would help.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY