Went Fly fishing, Caught a Great Horned Owl!

[Fishfreak911]

Went fly fishing today, caught the skunk....and an owl?!

Yesterday, I went fly fishing at Jess Ranch Lakes in Apple Valley, Ca. It was a cold morning (mid 30's, and ccccold for California!) and the water temps were in the high 40's, low 50's.

The fishing wasn't so good, and I left my float tube around 11am to get out of the cold water and warm my bones under the sun's rays. Little did I know, the highlight of this "fishing day" would have nothing to do with a fish! I was walking around our lake observing many, many different bird species including many from my very favorite bird family, raptors. There were soaring red tail hawks, perched ospreys, coopers hawks, and an owl. I first saw this owl perched in a very odd locale beneath a 2x12 spanning a narrow concrete water channel with just a few inches of ice cold water running through it. I thought it was one of those plastic owls you see when people try to keep pigeons away. I kept a good distance and started shooting pics. I slowly closed the gap while taking more pics. Once I realized his head was the only thing moving (to watch me), and his talons, legs, tail and behind were in the cold water, I deduced he might be in distress. This video shows the events as they unfolded.

[John Harper]

That is pretty amazing, Greg. Glad he didn't want some "human fingers" for a quick snack.

John

[fshflys]

That's some amazing footage, hope all turns out well.

David Pracht

[Wildman]

Well done, Greg. My only hope is that the Owl has not eaten a rodent that had eaten rat poison. The poisons in this area are anti coagulants and the secondary kill is just as potent as the first one. Death comes from bleeding out inside. The animal being poisoned will seek out water in the final stages as it's body chemistry is screaming for liquids. We have seen Red Tail hawks, Great Horned Owls, Coyote, Bobcats in our neighbors lake many times. Our other neighbors put out rat bait continuously.

We have seen three dead Great Horned Owls in a drainage near a large Utility facility.

No matter the reason for the Owl standing in the water...very good thing you did.

[midger]

Nice outing even without any fish. The owl is beautiful, but I suspect, like Jim mentioned, that the owl may have ingested poison. Hope it can be saved, but obviously it wasn't well to be sitting in water like that.

[darrin terry]

Stunning creatures! Those eyes at the 30 second mark were all "One more step and I'm eating whatever bit is closest buddy!". The next shot was all disbelief that you took another step.

Good for you in trying to help. I hope it turns out OK.

[Packer]

I can't see the video from my iPad. One night I almost ran one over in Coldwater Caynon. It was just sitting in the middle of the street. There were empty trash cans out that night so I managed to get it into one. I didn't want it to get hit by a car and it wasn't flying or walking away like one would think it should. I called animal control and they told me that owls can go into a semi-paralyzed state at times and they recover after a short while. I thought those talons were very lethal looking.
Thanks, Tim:)/~~--<*})))><

[Rob909]

Good job Greg. I hope all turns out well.


Rob

[fflutterffly]

Greg is now going to design "The Horned Owl" net with very special wood. Great job! Greg can you give us an update from time to time on it's recovery?

[clee]

That was an awesome video. Thanks for that Greg. Hopefully you can keep us up to date on what happens to him (or her).

[Bernard]

I find those birds so fascinating. I hope that it recovers. Good job.
B

[briansII]

Good for you! Hope he/she recovers fully.

briansII

[Fishfreak911]

Thanks all. I have a call into the rehab center that should be getting her. It's the one in Lake Arrowhead, but no returned call yet. I'll let you know.

[flocktothewall]

Wow thats amazing Greg.