# I saw an owl tonight. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849 "2005-05-28T02:43:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/1 "2005-05-28T02:43:24Z")
About 21.00. I went out the back of the warehouse to check there were no slackers having a crafty fag and there was this bloody great owl sitting on a skip. Not something a city boy like me sees every day. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/2 "2005-05-28T03:58:14Z")
They’re quite common around my place and I live within about 500 metres of the North Sydney CBD. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/3 "2005-05-28T04:09:02Z")
Who? \ ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/4 "2005-05-28T04:41:11Z")
We get them around here a lot, last year there were two babies on a stump in the front yard. I tried to get a picture but the flash wasn’t strong enough. Very cool looking birds, how close did you gey you it? ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/5 "2005-05-28T07:08:10Z")
Don’t owls portend death? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/6 "2005-05-28T07:23:28Z")
My uncle tells a great story about how he went waaaay out in the country in Georgia to see a friend. He says he arrived right at sunset, and he got out of his car to open the gate on the road (his friend owned a bunch of land, and his “driveway” was gated,) and as he bent over to unlatch the gate, he saw what appeared in the twilight to be three tiny people staring back at him from the underbrush. He nearly shat himself, jumped back about ten feet, and upon a second look, realized that there were three [screech owls](http://www.owlpages.com/species/otus/asio/e_screech4.html) sitting on the ground, silently watching him. He says he can totally understand where ancient stories about elves, dwarves, and other “little people” came from. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/7 "2005-05-29T07:21:36Z")
> [@Campion](#): > > Don’t owls portend death? They certainly do for the mice around our neighbourhood. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/8 "2005-05-29T10:44:33Z")
I was once working outside at a remote microwave radio site on a frosty November evening , complete with full moon. Suddenly a barn owl swooped just over my head, in complete silence. After first scaring the s\*\*\* out of me I then realised what a wonderful site they are. I have heard that these large white owls are sometimes the source of reported ghost sightings. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/9 "2005-05-29T11:29:23Z")
I was pulling into a strip mall one day. It was broad daylight. I pulled my car in and as I was getting out, I saw this HUGE f’n owl sitting atop the building (Directly over me) My heart must of skiped about three beats, I know for sure. The sad part about all this is; IT WASN’T A REAL OWL! Man, talk about feeling REALLY stupid afterwords… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/10 "2005-05-29T11:53:36Z")
> [@Campion](#): > > Don’t owls portend death? There is a Native American legend that says, if you hear an owl call your name, you shall die soon. On the other hand, my old tomcat, Clapton, caught & killed several small owls, so maybe he was even more supernatural than they. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/11 "2005-05-29T12:07:38Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > There is a Native American legend that says, if you hear an owl call your name, you shall die soon. A slight hijack, but this is too funny not to share:[I Heard The Owl Call My Name](http://owl.infosys.utas.edu.au/reading_room/books/209.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/12 "2005-05-29T12:26:49Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > A slight hijack, but this is too funny not to share:[I Heard The Owl Call My Name](http://owl.infosys.utas.edu.au/reading_room/books/209.html) > [@](#): > > Response submitted by Scott, aged 16, of Warwick High School > > THis is by far the orst book i have ever wasted my time reading. My teacher made us write chapter summaries, pass a test, do a presentation, and make up our own 100 quesoitn test on this book. As of now I am stuck because how can I do such work on a book as terrible, confusing, and pointless as this? I think that every copy should be burned at the stake and why nto throw the english teachers in with them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/13 "2005-05-29T14:09:09Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > There is a Native American legend that says, if you hear an owl call your name, you shall die soon… I guess that’s why “Hoo” or “Hoot” isn’t a popular Native American name. > [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > On the other hand, my old tomcat, Clapton, caught & killed several small owls, so maybe he was even more supernatural than they. I would only be amused by that if your cat were named Daltrey. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/14 "2005-05-29T14:51:43Z")
> [@Campion](#): > > Don’t owls portend death? I’ve known a couple of superstitious northen New Mexico Hispanics that absolutely hated them because of it. I see small owls all the time. I work at one place that has a large fake owl to scare away pigeons and there is a small one (Burrowing Owl I suppose) that always comes and just stands next to him for long periods of time. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/15 "2005-05-30T00:26:04Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > 😃 Yeah, I thought of you as soon as I found that site: these people would liven up Cafe Society no end. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/16 "2005-05-30T01:11:26Z")
Hmmmmmmmm if it were a British owl, perhaps it said _whom_? Owls are great looking birds and since they are deep woods birds, are rarely seen by us city folk. Just as a bit of trivia I think they are the onlly animal that will attack a skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/17 "2005-05-30T01:12:17Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > On the other hand, my old tomcat, Clapton, caught & killed several small owls, so maybe he was even more supernatural than they. ☹ Poor owls. To the OP: Wow, that’s really cool…I saw a woodpecker last year near one of the busiest intersections in Albany. I had to run back to work and identify it on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/18 "2005-05-30T05:36:45Z")
Owls are cool. > **[The Owl Pages - Information about Owls](https://www.owlpages.com/owls/)** > > Everything to do with owls - Detailed descriptions of different species, including photos and sounds. Also includes mythology, art, books, collectables and more. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-an-owl-tonight/305849/19 "2005-05-30T15:46:36Z")
It’s Farley Mowat! _points to OP_