amazing OWL at the bird show

[crimson]

There was the biggest owl at the bird show today, gosh he was stunning!!!

18-20" in height, and had the biggest orange/reddish eyes I've ever seen, a little bigger than a quarter.

Unfortunately he was totally blind. He was banded, and had a tether on him should he decide to fly off. apparently he came from EurAsia(sp?)

other that buying my birds today, it was the highlight of the show for sure!!!

sorry for the poor quality photo, that's a cell phone camera for you

Image2_zps7469a7ab.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket

 

[Kalidasa]

He is beautiful. Did they mention the reason for his blindness? Was he pretty calm being there with all the noise?

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Wow !!he doesn't even look real. I wonder what an owls like ?.

 

[Betrisher]

Oh WOW!!! He's beautiful! He looks like a Eurasian Eagle Owl (not too sure, though, since I can't see if he has 'horns'). What a shame he's blind! I hope his owner gives him a good life with lots of games and activities. I'd love to own an owl, but as a former mouse fancier, I couldn't deal with feeding live prey. Or even frozen prey. Euuuwww! It's academic anyway, 'cause it's illegal to keep owls in Australia. Thanks for the pic, Beth - it bet it was exciting to see such a large owl up close and personal!

 

[SpotsandSally]

Omg, I thought I was on my pigeon forum and was SO FLIPPING CONFUSED until I clicked on the picture!
I was expecting an owl pigeon, and was fairly excited. But then I got super excited. Because I was not expecting an OWL OWL. XD
That is so cool. I want an owl. And - not to sound creepy or anything!! - I'd love to feed live prey.
On one hand, I feel bad, but I find it fascinating to watch a predator hunt, or to watch my pigeons court, or the roosters fight - I love how they are mirrors towards one another, and that's all It takes. Sorry if I come off creepy or murderous, but I love watching animals act animal-ly. Lol.
Very beautiful owl. Do you know why he was blind? I remember we went to an outdoor recreation place, and they had a peregrine falcon. She was just sitting there, eating her chukar. It was very cool. She'd be snatched from her nest as a baby - I guess some of the falcons are very smart and live, and some are duds. They just... They're stupid, essentially. Lol. I think she was a 'dud', her name was weird, like I think her name was literally poop. It contained poop, crap or fart, i just dont remember. Lol. But she was very awesome. I wish I could've pet her.

 

[antoinette]

He is too beautiful, so sad being blind, what happened to him?

 

[crimson]

I have no idea how he got blind, I'm going back today and I'll find out.

At first when I looked at him he did not look real, I honestly thought he was stuffed, ha ha

then he moved!, and my jaw dropped, with the biggest grin on my face!..... he sat still the entire time for hours.

I have never been so close to an owl, yes I've seen them in the wild, maybe 50 to 100 feet away, but he was a mere 4 feet from me....I didn't want to get too close...his beak and those talons still hurt!, lol.

 

[Mayden]

Look at those huge feet!

I love birds of prey, I think they're absolutely magnificent!

 

[Abigal7]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. I love owls. It is interesting to see how they move and how far they can turn their heads. The way they carry themselves makes them look wise. Birds of prey are magnificent but I imagine feeding them live prey would be messy. It definitely would not be like feeding a snake. It would be interesting to hear from people that are licensed to have them on what they are like. I do have a picture of a wild American owl

 

[getwozzy]

Ohmygoodness he's absolutely stunning!!

 

[crimson]

I was back at the bird show, and inquired about the owl. apparently he was blind at birth, so he doesn't know any differently.

His owner feeds him life food, and he can still hunt by using his other senses....pretty impressive.

 

[Jayyj]

I know barn owls have been tested hunting in pitch black conditions and it didn't slow them down a second, and that they can hunt out mice that hidden under a layer of fallen leaves - I guess other senses than sight must be an important part of hunting techniques in owls.

 

[dreamin_sqaw]

dang! I cant get the pic to show. goes to the page, just no pic

 

[Lintini]

Have you guys seen the owl that displays differently when it feels threatened? Probably not the nicest thing to do to this bird but wow it can really change, and of course I like it's last "evil owl" transformation. I stumbled upon this being a transformers lover lol...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRXT_TrUbiw"]OWL transformer - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Lintini]

Oh wow, I just got lost on the owl side of youtube for an hour...........come back come back!!!!

 

[crimson]

Sarah and I got a really good chuckle over that owl.
that was amazing!!

 

[Lintini]

Yea that owl was not messing around!! What a neat species! But you really did get me lost on the owl side of youtube for over an hour lol. So much for homework....

 

[Blueridge]

Wow, owls are such beautiful creatures. I can hear them at my grandparent's house at night. They sound like a child screaming. Quite frightening if you don't know what it is.

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

I have yet to see an owl that wasn't amazing. They're such beautiful creatures. Thank you for sharing the photo and the story.