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Post by hunt6246 on Feb 17, 2012 9:42:56 GMT -5
Perhaps a silly question - I trap the woods near my home. I noticed that an owl or owls moved into the area and many times there was hooting throughout the night. It seemed that my catch dropped off significantly since the owls started sounding off. I wouldn't think an owl would bother full grown coyotes, foxes or coons. But, perhaps the coyotes, foxes etc. have an inbred fear of owls from when they were smaller. Could this have been just a coincidence? Has anyone noticed any effect on their trapping when owls moved into their area and stayed?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2012 9:48:10 GMT -5
I had a adult fox killed and partialy eaten in a trap this year. I know it was an Owl.
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Post by PnM on Feb 17, 2012 11:53:00 GMT -5
You are hearing the owls hooting now because they have begun breeding. Owls , the Great Horned, breed the earliest of birds around here. The owls have been there all along. You just haven't seen them. They are not considered major predators of our furbearers with the possible exception of Muskrats. Keep trapping and don't worry about the owls.
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Post by trappermac on Feb 17, 2012 12:14:27 GMT -5
I do agree with PnM - the owls are out there all the time they hoot to attract, the horned owls start as early as October/Nov and they would be on their nests right about now. I don't think the hooting scares a furbearer. All furbearers learn to watch for danger from up above when they are young.
Mostly hear barred owls around my place. Horned owls are the largest and they've been known to relish skunks, but most of their prey is rabbits and squirrels and mice, etc. That's not to say they won't "rake" a fox or anything (you) that they feel is a threat. (ever piss off a goshawk?) I'm sure some owls have taken kits or other young animals.
A horned owl will always start eating at the head of its prey, one way of recognizing an owl kill.
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tomsnare
It's a good time to be a trapper!
Posts: 514
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Post by tomsnare on Feb 17, 2012 20:41:28 GMT -5
Out here we have a lot of eagles and the badest of the bunch is the golden I have them on my carcass piles and nobody eats till the golden says to , I lose snared animals to eagles it's the cost of doing business, I trapped the south and 220'd coon if they laid on their back vultures would open the stomach, kind of ruined the meat!! Everything has to make a living just seems that they always get the #1's -------Tom
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Post by hunt6246 on Feb 17, 2012 20:56:12 GMT -5
Yes, I realize the owls are there all of the time. But, their calling is kind of a give away to anything two or four footed that may not have otherwise realized they were there. That's why I suspected other critters may be steering away away from where they are. I had a goshawk come after me one time while I was bow hunting. It came zooming through the woods and landed on a limb about 20yds away. I had a full face mask and total camo on while I was in a treestand. I'm sure it only saw my eyes moving. Suddenly, the Goshawk came off its' limb and towards my face like a rocket. I instinctively got my bow and arrow up in front of my face and it changed course at the last moment. That one left me shaking like a leaf, and I had to set down for a while.
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