Bear Bio,
Thanks for that information. The pair of Great Horned Owls that roosted fairly regularly behind our home way out in the country in a tall Elm Tree were pretty frequent visitors. Since there was a row of these trees behind our house, and since there was little human traffic there after dark, they seemed not to be concerned much with us. They always roosted in the last tree behind the house which gave them a 3/4 view of pasture on one side and farm field on the other. My dad (and later me) was a bird watcher. We had several bird friendly places around our home. I could hear them making noise during the night time often. First time I heard them (or one of them), I had no idea what I was hearing. It was not a hooting sound that I was used to hearing.
All the flora and fauna around our abode were always very interesting to me. My curiosity knew no bounds, resulting in such things as getting bit a few times by bull snakes that I caught and played with. Never tried to catch a rattle snake since from early days, I had been seriously schooled to recognize them and constantly watch for them. We never killed them unless they were in close proximity to the home or stockyard. Had a dog as well as some milk cows that were bitten and the sight of the results was enough to get my full attention!
I spent many days and hours riding a farm tractor (before the days of cabs or shades on tractors) and watching various hawks circling and following the tractor in the fields. I watched many rodents dispatched after a swift dive to capture them. Never ceased to fascinate and impress me. Not many birds beyond sparrows were on my approved hunting list, except for quail and dove during season. The Great Horned Owls are about my favorite bird. They are majestice in my view. I like all owls as well. I've spent hours watching burrowing owls in the praire dog towns in our pastures, which probably saved the lives of some of those creatures since I didn't want a shot to scare the owls away! Here is my favorite photo with caption added:
