@@mso2013 - They'd eat the owl also if they caught it off guard. Trapped and killed 18 of those little a-holes on my farm after they broke in to my chicken coop.
@@exterminator4808 The Russian night witches stealth bombers would shut of their engines before attacking in the cover of the night doing WW2, and they was considered extremely successful.
Yeah, this is Owl 101. This is their thing. See at night and maneuver through dense forest without a sound. That Raccoon didn't know what hit it. First hit was, "WTF was that?" Second hit was sheer panic.
first time it might have figured it was something else, a coincidence, whatever. "What in the world?" 2nd time made it pretty clear it was precision bombing, best not wait for the third strike. Probably still didn't know what hit him, but it must have been intentional xD
Commenter as so fucking stupid here. The racoon's hide already was pierced the first time, just watch his eyes blinkering in pain and the body language. The racoon isn't asking itself any question IT KNOWS THAT WAS THE OWL FROM THE FIRST HIT.
@Shay Ogun just look at its squinting and quickly strobing its eyes just after being pierced by 2 sets of 3 extremely sharp claws. This is pangs of pain. Don't assume you will see a human reaction to pain, this is an animal.
@Shay Ogun Nah, you need to watch more gory animal videos with predator killing prey, the reactions are not what you expect. The racoon is in deep pain for a few seconds but knows the attack was airborne . If his foe was a four legged animal in front of him ready to delivery another attack you'd see the raccoon reacting much more vividly.
First 45 seconds is maybe the most amazing image I've ever seen on youtube. Watched in 1080p. It looked like a painting, but it was moving. It's camouflage, but it's more, various colors and textures of the owl, compared to the wood. Dried needles in foreground matching the wing. Can't get over it! The reds on the owl and the reds in the wood.
Your comment encouraged us to look at this video again and you're right. The male owl is almost posing for us - looking right at the camera - and the texture and color of his plumage, seen against the live oak bark and nesting material, is really striking. It's as if they were drawn by the same hand. We have some great daytime footage of the owls on this nest and also in a tree down by the creek: texasbackyardwildlife.com/great-horned-owls/.
Here's another video with colors that might have been chosen by an artist: texasbackyardwildlife.com/a-snoozing-fox-meets-a-plucky-little-titmouse/. The fox and the titmouse match - gray, golden orange, cream. I think it's extraordinary. Plus, it's a bizarre little story.
It's really kind of amazing seeing how the owl treats the encounter. It doesn't land in the nest and aggressively attack the raccoon; birds are delicate, even a small injury could be fatal. So to minimize risk of injury, its strategy is high speed, maximum impact, but minimal contact. You can see here, it's just a blur, and its contact with the raccoon is a fraction of a second, but at that speed, that's enough to do the job. No sticking around, no wrestling, just SLAM and gone. Efficiency in action.
That's all very true. Another commenter noted that the owl was careful to hit the raccoon when her back was turned, so the raccoon didn't even have a chance to try to defend herself. She may never have seen what hit her. It was a very carefully calibrated attack.
I have read accounts of birds of prey, particularly Cooper's Hawks, getting killed by mammalian prey. One female Coops tried to get a squirrel and it cut open her jugular. It's not always easy being a predator!
Pity. Lol. The owl attacked it in a manner that gave the owl least resistance. If a good sized raccoon like that ever got a hold of that owl it could have been disastrous for the owl.
@@frankmorse7929That's debatable given the massive talons of the GHOW. Plus their hearing is so exceptional they are incredibly hard to sneak up on night when racoons are usually active.
@@Troublemaker1022-r9c we had a red screech. Blew my mind one day when after killing a rabbit near the road he then after 2 or 3 attempts actually got airborne with his prize. 4 babies then ate like kings!
My first time hearing this and the only reason I’m here is because I was trying to find out a noise in my backyard and it was owl and it brought me here🍀 aren’t grandmas the best ❤️❤️
The owl probably wouldn't risk fighting a big raccoon - an injured raccoon can recover but an injured owl, if he can't fly, is in serious trouble, and this raccoon will have out-weighed the owl by quite a lot. Also, the owl was just being cranky - he wasn't actually using the nest, he just didn't want anyone else to enjoy it.
For those who don’t know, the raccoon is a nest robber. He’s up there, looking for eggs, and then he decides to chill for a while. Many have noted correctly that the owl, and any bird for that matter, does not intend to fight unless it has to. Flying in, and scratching animals to displace them is the goal. Then they wait to see if the animal intruder will go away.
The owl wasn't actually nesting on the platform, but it seems he didn't want anyone else getting too cozy there. We built the platform in the hope that a pair of owls would lay eggs and bring up chicks, but no one ever has. The raccoons use the platform all the time - they climb up and just hang out there - as far as they're concerned, it's theirs. Last thing - great horned owls begin incubating as soon as they've laid their first egg and they rarely leave their eggs alone for more than a couple of minutes. They guard their eggs very effectively and it would be tough for a raccoon to snag one.
Fun fact: I had one hit the back of my head when I was jogging at night. It ripped out hair and scratched my scalp bloody. I saw it sail away with long hair in its claws. I can testify what the racoon felt: BAM, RIP.@scotthespelt6832
Having had the experience of being attacked by an owl when I was too close to the nest, I will testify that they hit HARD! I guarantee you that the raccoon remembered that attack.
I feel like I’ve been hearing these guys more and more near my house. Maybe I’ve just been more observant of them, but I still rarely actually see them. Very cool animals.
We haven't heard any hooting so far this year, but the owls are definitely around - I saw one this morning when I went to clean one of the water bowls. We're looking forward to hearing them again.
For an animal known to rummage through garbage, that Raccoon grew a brain cell or two and wisely elected not to stick around after that second warning.
Raccoons are probably our smartest wildlife neighbors. They're curious, and very quick learners. We are constantly amazed and amused by them (though they stole my shoes off the porch last night and left them in out the backyard so they're currently not on my Christmas list).
Realising humans leave free food lying outside in easily openable containers unguarded and systematically exploiting that so they get more food for way less work is pretty intelligent.
Still hunting, I walked to within 8 feet of one, I swear he was 24" head to tail. He was in a pine just above my head. He had talons at least 1" long. It was obviously asleep. I used the strap on my deer rifle to make a squeaking sound to attract its attention. It turned its head all the way around to look at me, and started to walk down the limb toward me. I got frightened and finally moved. It took a couple of flaps, and glided off into the fog. Amazing experience.
Years ago I was hunting, moving through the woods in full camoflage. The only things exposed were my eyes through the mask. Out of nowhere a barn owl lands like ten feet from me and just stares at me. I was in shock, couldn't believe this. For about 30 seconds we just stared at each other. I think he couldn't figure out what I was. He then takes off but lands on another branch, in back of a tree, hidden from view. Then the little dude leans over past the tree and is still looking at me. I see this little head with big eyes, checking me out. A few moments later he takes off for good, but it was hilarious to think he just couldn't wrap his head around what he was looking at.
@@bobharritech8460 Glad you weren't like some, so called hunters, that are just very basic beings who blast every creature they see then brag about their imagined 'superiority'.
@@chookinathunderstorm3446 when has this ever happened? Oh wait it's just a stereotype being projected. You hunt what you are hunting for mot gunning down every thing that moves. Clearly you don't know what your talking about
It’s crazy that Great Horned Owls are in most of our neighborhoods and yards yet their rarely seen. They’re camouflage and ability to stay still is amazing, blends right into the tree. I use night vision and make hooting sounds to see them at night. My neighbors probably think I’m nuts.
So the owls respond when you hoot at them? That's really interesting. We've never tried it. If the owls are answering you, you must be pretty convincing and your neighbors probably think you're an owl.
It took two passes, because the first one left the raccoon completely confused, and after the second pass the raccoon gave up on figuring out the mystery and just took off.
I was on guard duty in the USMC and I knew there was a burrowing owl family near the armory, so I went to check it out in the middle of the night and I got a flyby warning like this raccoon did, so I stayed away. That owl could’ve taken my eyes out, but was just watching and warning me.
Interesting! We've seen the owls do similar warning fly-bys out in the dry creek bed. Here's a video from a few years ago: texasbackyardwildlife.com/great-horned-owl-in-stealth-bomber-mode-get-out-of-my-territory/
@@TexasBackyardWildlifeBritish wildlife photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when a Tawny Owl (Strix aluco, a smaller cousin of our Northern Barred Owl) struck him across the face.
“ this is owl flight 101 on mission. Auto targeting engaged and green lit. Commencing run. I have a confirmed hit, repeat confirmed hit. Target is still viable. Returning for secondary run. Confirmed hit . Scratch one raccoon.”
I've been hearing that hoot almost every night for the past week. I've only seen one great horned owl in the wild and that was my lucky night. It was winter so the trees didn't have any leaves and there was a full moon, I managed to line up the owl while it was perched on a branch right between me and the moon. It was an awesome picture. I used my mom's good camera so it turned out real sharp and clear. I'll never forget that image.
@TexasBackyardWildlife I've been hearing one quite frequently but two nights ago on 12-12-24 I heard two, I'm guessing they were communicating because the closer one would hoot and within 2-3 seconds the other one would hoot. It wasn't as loud so I'm guessing it was farther away.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife I'm in Parker, AZ on the river and for the last two weeks each day there's been an owl close by. Vocally active between dawn and full daylight and then done. Majestic sound; I haven't been able to locate it yet.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife If you ever come visit us in Australia, I will show you (well try to show you) a Tawny Frogmouth. It might not look any more cryptic than your owl, but a Frogmouth will sit on the end of a dead branch and .... simply disappear. You can look RIGHT AT IT and not see it.
Wow. I'll have to take a look online. I was brought up in NZ, and we have lots of beautiful and fascinating birds, but nothing, I think, like your frogmouth. Australia is packed with unique and bizarre wildlife.
This video has a nice - though brief - segment showing a tawny frogmouth transforming itself into the end of a branch. Amazing. ruclips.net/video/nci3dnZPVfg/видео.html
That had to hurt, the first time the racoon wasn't quite sure what happened, even though the fur flew. The sting of the second one convinced it was time to move on, - quickly.
We're not even sure the poor raccoon knew what was hitting him. The owl would have been almost silent. The raccoons love to hang out up on the nest platform - but if the owls are considering nesting there, it's not a great place to be. PS - the owls have never actually nested here, but we still call it the owl nest.
This is how they chase bald eagles out of their territory also. If they even see an eagle make their nest nearby, they will do this until the eagles have had enough and just leave. Their wings make NO sound when they fly like that. Don't mess with the owl.
I’m lucky enough to have a utility pole in the corner of my backyard. I get to see a very large owl occasionally hawks even a turkey buzzer. Behind my house is a open area that has rabbit and lots of rats.
@@Gravitycreatedlife We don't illuminate the nest. We use infrared cameras - they can essentially see in the dark. You can tell when the video has switched to infrared because it goes from color to black & white.
@@asmodeus1274 We live in south-west Austin. Near Oak Hill. It seems surprising to have this much wildlife activity within the city limits, but it's amazing what you see when you put out some cameras.
The great horned owls here never go after the raccoons. A raccoon would easily survive a hostile encounter, but an injured owl is basically done for. So while we see the owl get territorial with raccoons and tell them to get the hell out, we never see them really engage. That said, your comment is very witty and clever. Thank you!
Owls are beautiful. When she was little, my daughter spotted a great horned owl sitting at the top of a tree outside of a restaurant as we were leaving. You had to shield your eyes from the street light to see it. That was so neat.
This is so cool. And the discussion from Raynsideways make soooo much sense: “maximum impact, minimal contact” to avoid injury while getting its message across so clearly! 😃👍❤️
That is exactly right. The owl wants the raccoon gone, but it would be very unwise to risk being injured. An injured raccoon probably will survive, an injured owl probably will not.
Awesome video. The owl's colors are absolutely amazing when you see how he / she totally blends in with the surroundings. Nature at it's finest in all regards. Thanks for sharing.
Every now and then we have an owl appear out in our trees a few hours after sundown. When he/she give out its calls, it makes for such an incredibly serene moment.
True. The owls are silent. I don't think the owl really hurt the raccoon - he just wanted to frighten him off, he didn't want to risk a fight (lucky for the raccoon).
Getting dive-bombed by a bird can be a scary thing, even when they don't touch you. Once a seagull swooped at speed at my head, without making contact, but which made me realize I must have been in a nesting area (which I couldn't see through the tall grass). I got out of there quickly. But how lucky you are to have this much rarer view of a great horned owl! What a beautiful face, and the feather "designs" are a work of art. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Stephanie. I was once semi-attacked by a nesting Australian magpie, and it really alarmed me. The bird was nesting near the path I used to get from my apartment to my college campus, and for a few weeks it was a nerve-wracking journey.
The owl's plumage is perfectly camouflaged with the surrounding tree bark.
Yes. He does an excellent job of blending in.
I was struck by that too
Owl, what owl. I couldn’t see an owl 😂👍
The plumage don't enter into it!
@@LeafInTheStream My all-time favorite Monty Python skit! "Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, init?" ruclips.net/video/vZw35VUBdzo/видео.html
That racoon was just admiring the craftsmanship of the nest
"Is this mahogany?"
Totaly not looking for eggs no-no.
Aye.. a connoisseur in the fine art of nest building🦝
@@mso2013 - They'd eat the owl also if they caught it off guard. Trapped and killed 18 of those little a-holes on my farm after they broke in to my chicken coop.
Looking for eggs
Racoon🦝: What the hell was that?!
Owl🦉: Not what.... Who.
I see what you did there... 😉
You win 🤣😂🤣
.....spiderman reference?
😹.
🤣🤣
*This is where the "Ow" in Owl brings its painful claws to the Raccoon.*
✔
That camouflage is amazing! The speed with which he hits the racoon is surprising, it's like a stealth bomber.
Better than a stealth bomber because the owl actually is capable of perfectly silent flight. No noise because of its wing flapping.
It’s always justified with nature but never in the human world where we’re not nature...supposedly for some reason
Yeah, they make the least amount of noise when flying than any other birds. So that old boy never heard him coming. Hahaha!
And if he don't watch that old boy can become coon stakes.
@@exterminator4808 The Russian night witches stealth bombers would shut of their engines before attacking in the cover of the night doing WW2, and they was considered extremely successful.
First strike: What was that? Am I imagining things?
Second strike: I'm out of here!
I love the polite pauses whenever the owl hoo's so we can hear it
Yes, thank you for not speaking over the owl. ❤
Yeah, this is Owl 101. This is their thing. See at night and maneuver through dense forest without a sound. That Raccoon didn't know what hit it. First hit was, "WTF was that?" Second hit was sheer panic.
lol
i had the same reactions when dad use to show me his wiener
Those rounded wings make night flight perfectly silent... that Raccoon was doomed from the start
My pup and I were stalked in broad daylight by two great horned owls. Pretty nerve-racking for me, the dog was oblivious.
Spot on. WTF was that! Then like a A-10 coming in for a strife and BAM, He is Audi of here. Love it!
From the racoon's second reaction, it looks like the owl probably pierced its hide and made it go "ouch"
first time it might have figured it was something else, a coincidence, whatever. "What in the world?"
2nd time made it pretty clear it was precision bombing, best not wait for the third strike. Probably still didn't know what hit him, but it must have been intentional xD
I noticed that also. It seemed to pierce the flesh on the second contact
Commenter as so fucking stupid here. The racoon's hide already was pierced the first time, just watch his eyes blinkering in pain and the body language. The racoon isn't asking itself any question IT KNOWS THAT WAS THE OWL FROM THE FIRST HIT.
@Shay Ogun just look at its squinting and quickly strobing its eyes just after being pierced by 2 sets of 3 extremely sharp claws. This is pangs of pain. Don't assume you will see a human reaction to pain, this is an animal.
@Shay Ogun Nah, you need to watch more gory animal videos with predator killing prey, the reactions are not what you expect. The racoon is in deep pain for a few seconds but knows the attack was airborne . If his foe was a four legged animal in front of him ready to delivery another attack you'd see the raccoon reacting much more vividly.
First 45 seconds is maybe the most amazing image I've ever seen on youtube. Watched in 1080p. It looked like a painting, but it was moving. It's camouflage, but it's more, various colors and textures of the owl, compared to the wood. Dried needles in foreground matching the wing. Can't get over it! The reds on the owl and the reds in the wood.
Simply stunning
I couldn't believe how well camouflaged he was!
Your comment encouraged us to look at this video again and you're right. The male owl is almost posing for us - looking right at the camera - and the texture and color of his plumage, seen against the live oak bark and nesting material, is really striking. It's as if they were drawn by the same hand. We have some great daytime footage of the owls on this nest and also in a tree down by the creek: texasbackyardwildlife.com/great-horned-owls/.
Here's another video with colors that might have been chosen by an artist: texasbackyardwildlife.com/a-snoozing-fox-meets-a-plucky-little-titmouse/. The fox and the titmouse match - gray, golden orange, cream. I think it's extraordinary. Plus, it's a bizarre little story.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife They were drawn by the same hand: the Good Lord's hand.
That raccoon just wanted to ask Mr. Owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop.
Mr. Owl says: "Two, now get out!"
Ooohhh I loved that commercial
Also, very clever of you
BAHAHAHAAH!!
Good point!
The world may never know......
😅🤣😂
The owl says: “ whoooo knoooows?”
It's really kind of amazing seeing how the owl treats the encounter. It doesn't land in the nest and aggressively attack the raccoon; birds are delicate, even a small injury could be fatal. So to minimize risk of injury, its strategy is high speed, maximum impact, but minimal contact. You can see here, it's just a blur, and its contact with the raccoon is a fraction of a second, but at that speed, that's enough to do the job. No sticking around, no wrestling, just SLAM and gone. Efficiency in action.
That's all very true. Another commenter noted that the owl was careful to hit the raccoon when her back was turned, so the raccoon didn't even have a chance to try to defend herself. She may never have seen what hit her. It was a very carefully calibrated attack.
I have read accounts of birds of prey, particularly Cooper's Hawks, getting killed by mammalian prey. One female Coops tried to get a squirrel and it cut open her jugular. It's not always easy being a predator!
😄Funny i thought of it as pity on on the raccoon
Pity. Lol. The owl attacked it in a manner that gave the owl least resistance. If a good sized raccoon like that ever got a hold of that owl it could have been disastrous for the owl.
@@frankmorse7929That's debatable given the massive talons of the GHOW. Plus their hearing is so exceptional they are incredibly hard to sneak up on night when racoons are usually active.
"You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the F outta here..."
~Owl
"Hippity Hoppitest, get yer fat arse outta my nest" :D
hubbada
🤣🤣🤣
That racoon was luck Mr. Owl didn't give him more than a warning. Damn that was high speed.
Raccoon was damned lucky the Owl didn't eat him for lunch.
Owls eat rabbits even skunks.
Owl wouldnt risk Injury with something like a raccoon. Plenty of rats and mice around, why risk it?
That first was a friendly warning, the second much more businesslike!
@@Troublemaker1022-r9c we had a red screech. Blew my mind one day when after killing a rabbit near the road he then after 2 or 3 attempts actually got airborne with his prize. 4 babies then ate like kings!
Its camouflage is the exact colors of the flora. amazing.
Yup... just like Grandma always said “Everyone’s a raccoon, till an owl shows up!”
God bless your Gramma. Words of wisdom!
Wiser words have never been told
Then you’re dinner
I love this
My first time hearing this and the only reason I’m here is because I was trying to find out a noise in my backyard and it was owl and it brought me here🍀 aren’t grandmas the best ❤️❤️
The owls camouflage is amazing
What an absolutely beautiful bird, I do love owls so much.
Yes! I never saw an Owl that wasn't beautiful.
I agree wholeheartedly. Not a single bad owl breed in the bunch.
I love how the owl saved his damn energy by not fighting with the raccoon but instead scaring it first and then scaring it a little harder. ❤
The owl probably wouldn't risk fighting a big raccoon - an injured raccoon can recover but an injured owl, if he can't fly, is in serious trouble, and this raccoon will have out-weighed the owl by quite a lot. Also, the owl was just being cranky - he wasn't actually using the nest, he just didn't want anyone else to enjoy it.
Owls are incredible
For those who don’t know, the raccoon is a nest robber. He’s up there, looking for eggs, and then he decides to chill for a while. Many have noted correctly that the owl, and any bird for that matter, does not intend to fight unless it has to. Flying in, and scratching animals to displace them is the goal. Then they wait to see if the animal intruder will go away.
The owl wasn't actually nesting on the platform, but it seems he didn't want anyone else getting too cozy there. We built the platform in the hope that a pair of owls would lay eggs and bring up chicks, but no one ever has.
The raccoons use the platform all the time - they climb up and just hang out there - as far as they're concerned, it's theirs.
Last thing - great horned owls begin incubating as soon as they've laid their first egg and they rarely leave their eggs alone for more than a couple of minutes. They guard their eggs very effectively and it would be tough for a raccoon to snag one.
Another fun fact... Great Horned Owls have been known to prey on racoons.
Fun fact: I had one hit the back of my head when I was jogging at night. It ripped out hair and scratched my scalp bloody. I saw it sail away with long hair in its claws. I can testify what the racoon felt: BAM, RIP.@scotthespelt6832
Thanks - I was wondering if the racoon got away with any owl eggs.- glad that was NOT the case! @@TexasBackyardWildlife
@@Mdeaccostayes they are very powerful. That was probably just a warning too
Noiseless flight, not a single sound. Just amazing creatures.
Their feathering is absolutely gorgeous !
Having had the experience of being attacked by an owl when I was too close to the nest, I will testify that they hit HARD! I guarantee you that the raccoon remembered that attack.
Ouch. The raccoon was lucky she wasn't knocked clear off the nest - and she got hit twice!
Where was this nest ? Were you out in the woods ?
That owl is so beautiful. A real wonder. With that perfectly camouflaged coat…
Their camouflage feathers are impeccable. Practically invisible against most backgrounds.
Yes, the great horned owls seem to be made to blend in with our live oaks and bare branches.
Also very silent, that is why the raccoon couldn't react before the owl was strafing it.
Fascinating creatures! Love the owl and that hoot. 🦉 thanks for sharing.
We love the hoot, too.
I feel like I’ve been hearing these guys more and more near my house. Maybe I’ve just been more observant of them, but I still rarely actually see them. Very cool animals.
We haven't heard any hooting so far this year, but the owls are definitely around - I saw one this morning when I went to clean one of the water bowls. We're looking forward to hearing them again.
For an animal known to rummage through garbage, that Raccoon grew a brain cell or two and wisely elected not to stick around after that second warning.
Raccoons are probably our smartest wildlife neighbors. They're curious, and very quick learners. We are constantly amazed and amused by them (though they stole my shoes off the porch last night and left them in out the backyard so they're currently not on my Christmas list).
Realising humans leave free food lying outside in easily openable containers unguarded and systematically exploiting that so they get more food for way less work is pretty intelligent.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife haha that's adorable.
@Snuff why are you so hostile
If you’re implying that raccoons are dumb, you are sadly mistaken.
Beautiful camouflage against the tree bark. Stunning bird.
I liked how the racoon had a worried look in his eyes. The mask probably exaggerates the anxiety look.
😂
Still hunting, I walked to within 8 feet of one, I swear he was 24" head to tail. He was in a pine just above my head. He had talons at least 1" long. It was obviously asleep. I used the strap on my deer rifle to make a squeaking sound to attract its attention. It turned its head all the way around to look at me, and started to walk down the limb toward me. I got frightened and finally moved. It took a couple of flaps, and glided off into the fog. Amazing experience.
Wow!
Years ago I was hunting, moving through the woods in full camoflage. The only things exposed were my eyes through the mask. Out of nowhere a barn owl lands like ten feet from me and just stares at me. I was in shock, couldn't believe this. For about 30 seconds we just stared at each other. I think he couldn't figure out what I was. He then takes off but lands on another branch, in back of a tree, hidden from view. Then the little dude leans over past the tree and is still looking at me. I see this little head with big eyes, checking me out. A few moments later he takes off for good, but it was hilarious to think he just couldn't wrap his head around what he was looking at.
@@bobharritech8460
“I fucking knew it. These trees are alive”
@@bobharritech8460 Glad you weren't like some, so called hunters, that are just very basic beings who blast every creature they see then brag about their imagined 'superiority'.
@@chookinathunderstorm3446 when has this ever happened? Oh wait it's just a stereotype being projected. You hunt what you are hunting for mot gunning down every thing that moves. Clearly you don't know what your talking about
They are so beautiful and majestic
That racoon had the fear of God put into it when the owl's talons penetrated it's back
It’s amazing how well his colors match those of the nest. Almost like a chameleon where his body adapts to match its surroundings.
I know, Clay. He's almost invisible, isn't he?
That was really exciting to watch. Thanks for narrating! I was looking in the right places at the right time!
Thanks Aisha. Nice to hear from you again.
When you're squatting on someone else's nest, and not paying rent you gotta go....
You mean like the exes lazy, good-for-nothing new boyfriend?
Your cinematography is stunning.
I'm amazed that Raccoon stayed around for a second helping of those Owl talons.
Must have the hide of a Rhinoceros.
He just got fisted. (Ok I did not mean for that to sound dirty.)
It’s crazy that Great Horned Owls are in most of our neighborhoods and yards yet their rarely seen. They’re camouflage and ability to stay still is amazing, blends right into the tree. I use night vision and make hooting sounds to see them at night. My neighbors probably think I’m nuts.
So the owls respond when you hoot at them? That's really interesting. We've never tried it. If the owls are answering you, you must be pretty convincing and your neighbors probably think you're an owl.
Their* (they're = they are) camouflage and ability to stay still are* amazing.
I hoot at the great horned owls in our neighborhood & they hoot back! My husband thought I was nuts until he heard them answer me
@@einundsiebenziger5488failed on both their and they’re 👍👍
Man what a beautiful bird that is
Thats what we call getting rekt! That owl is a badass for sure.
It took two passes, because the first one left the raccoon completely confused, and after the second pass the raccoon gave up on figuring out the mystery and just took off.
Thank you Captain Obvious!
@@mmdirtyworkz stfu
@@agentgrey5696 Hey man, calm your tits! :*
Owls have special tips on their feathers that make them silent when they fly. Raccoon was very confused yes.
Absolutely stunning bird , after that second strike he couldnt get out of there fast enough
I really like how the narrator is quiet each time the owl makes its sound.
Thank you. We try to let the owls speak too, it's their video.
*Billy:* Mr. Owl, how many strikes does it take to kick a raccoon out of your nest?
*Owl:* Just two, Billy. Just two.
Those claws dug in good the second time.
I was on guard duty in the USMC and I knew there was a burrowing owl family near the armory, so I went to check it out in the middle of the night and I got a flyby warning like this raccoon did, so I stayed away. That owl could’ve taken my eyes out, but was just watching and warning me.
Interesting! We've seen the owls do similar warning fly-bys out in the dry creek bed. Here's a video from a few years ago: texasbackyardwildlife.com/great-horned-owl-in-stealth-bomber-mode-get-out-of-my-territory/
I fly my post from flank to flank and take no s*** from anything
@@TexasBackyardWildlifeBritish wildlife photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when a Tawny Owl (Strix aluco, a smaller cousin of our Northern Barred Owl) struck him across the face.
I don't ever get to see anything like this. Thank you so much! Nature is wonderful!
“ this is owl flight 101 on mission. Auto targeting engaged and green lit. Commencing run. I have a confirmed hit, repeat confirmed hit. Target is still viable. Returning for secondary run. Confirmed hit . Scratch one raccoon.”
This is the definition of total air superiority.
@@Look_What_You_Did They can fly... briefly.
A couple of perfectly timed strafing runs by the Great Horned Owl model of the A-10.
Yep. That owl certainly knows how to fly.
BRRRRRPP!!
If that owl was the bird equivalent of an A-10, that coon would be red pulp.
@@jimmyrustler9980 Ya got a point !
The equivalent of firing bean bags...(Yet still an escalation in tensions.)
Awesome footage!Thanks for sharing.
I've been hearing that hoot almost every night for the past week. I've only seen one great horned owl in the wild and that was my lucky night. It was winter so the trees didn't have any leaves and there was a full moon, I managed to line up the owl while it was perched on a branch right between me and the moon. It was an awesome picture. I used my mom's good camera so it turned out real sharp and clear. I'll never forget that image.
You are lucky, Steve. We used to hear them and see them quite frequently, but for the past few years they're a rarity for us.
@TexasBackyardWildlife I've been hearing one quite frequently but two nights ago on 12-12-24 I heard two, I'm guessing they were communicating because the closer one would hoot and within 2-3 seconds the other one would hoot. It wasn't as loud so I'm guessing it was farther away.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife I'm in Parker, AZ on the river and for the last two weeks each day there's been an owl close by. Vocally active between dawn and full daylight and then done. Majestic sound; I haven't been able to locate it yet.
Imagine sitting in what you claim to be your room at night, the room is empty and then somebody pokes your butt
Certainly pretty startling.
What a great capture! I have one in our neighborhood and I’m hoping I can capture it on camera at some point!
Good luck! We hope you succeed.
Wow, that cryptic plumage is absoltuely brilliant camouflage. One of the best Ive seen.
Isn't it astonishing? The owls almost disappear into the background.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife If you ever come visit us in Australia, I will show you (well try to show you) a Tawny Frogmouth. It might not look any more cryptic than your owl, but a Frogmouth will sit on the end of a dead branch and .... simply disappear. You can look RIGHT AT IT and not see it.
Wow. I'll have to take a look online. I was brought up in NZ, and we have lots of beautiful and fascinating birds, but nothing, I think, like your frogmouth. Australia is packed with unique and bizarre wildlife.
This video has a nice - though brief - segment showing a tawny frogmouth transforming itself into the end of a branch. Amazing. ruclips.net/video/nci3dnZPVfg/видео.html
Owl has razor sharp toes. That raccoon won’t soon forget that
This is amazing. Thank you for the huge amount of time and patience you spent getting this incredible footage!
Our pleasure (really - we love this stuff). Thanks for your kind comment, Yvonne.
That had to hurt, the first time the racoon wasn't quite sure what happened, even though the fur flew. The sting of the second one convinced it was time to move on, - quickly.
We're not even sure the poor raccoon knew what was hitting him. The owl would have been almost silent. The raccoons love to hang out up on the nest platform - but if the owls are considering nesting there, it's not a great place to be. PS - the owls have never actually nested here, but we still call it the owl nest.
He is gorgeous!
Legend has it, every time they raccoon drinks from the pond, he leaks like a sieve.
This was the best most informational video I've ever seen. I'm blown away.. Thks
Again, thank you!!
glowing eyes in the tree in the background
It's actually a cellphone tower. The lights do look like eyes, though.
The camouflage is amazing!
Yes! Isn't it?
This owl was like the A-10 thunderbolt in the bird world... beautiful looking owl.
More like an F22 Raptor
Raccoon: Its free real estate
Owl: NOT ON MY WATCH
Beautiful bird, amazing to watch😊
Beautiful, the camouflage blend is amazing!
This is how they chase bald eagles out of their territory also. If they even see an eagle make their nest nearby, they will do this until the eagles have had enough and just leave. Their wings make NO sound when they fly like that. Don't mess with the owl.
Raccoon gets clipped by sharp talons : "OUCH ! Owl be leaving now !!"
I’m lucky enough to have a utility pole in the corner of my backyard.
I get to see a very large owl occasionally hawks even a turkey buzzer.
Behind my house is a open area that has rabbit and lots of rats.
You are lucky, you're right. Nice to have some wildlife around.
Like a stealth jet fighter.
Gives a whole new meaning to "let me tap that!" Hope the owl couple had a good winter.
They didn't stay with us, sadly. They chose to nest elsewhere. But we had a lot of fun watching them while they were test-driving our nest.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife maybe if you didn't illuminate the nest at night they would have stuck around.
@@Gravitycreatedlife We don't illuminate the nest. We use infrared cameras - they can essentially see in the dark. You can tell when the video has switched to infrared because it goes from color to black & white.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife Where in TX do you live? General area...
@@asmodeus1274 We live in south-west Austin. Near Oak Hill. It seems surprising to have this much wildlife activity within the city limits, but it's amazing what you see when you put out some cameras.
Raccoon never saw his attacker. He probably thought the nest was haunted.
And there you have it, either Raccoon leaves or Raccoon stays for supper.
The great horned owls here never go after the raccoons. A raccoon would easily survive a hostile encounter, but an injured owl is basically done for. So while we see the owl get territorial with raccoons and tell them to get the hell out, we never see them really engage. That said, your comment is very witty and clever. Thank you!
@@TexasBackyardWildlife Those darn city folks. LOL. Great video thanks.
Owls are absolutely magnificent and such intelligent creature's. You're footage is amazing.
Thank you!
... creatures* (plural, no apostrophe) your* footage (you're = you are)
Isn’t it beautiful how God makes their feathers blend right into the woods.❤
Well, possibly evolution had something to do with it, but we agree that there's some pretty neat camouflaging going on here.
Owls are beautiful. When she was little, my daughter spotted a great horned owl sitting at the top of a tree outside of a restaurant as we were leaving. You had to shield your eyes from the street light to see it. That was so neat.
that owl was ready for game time no doubt!
The color and markings on this owl is simply amazing. It's astonishingly beautiful.
The color and markings are* amazing.
what awesome footage!!
Thank you!
Wow. Didn´t expect the Owl so hefty impact like an arrow . Awesome
This is so cool. And the discussion from Raynsideways make soooo much sense: “maximum impact, minimal contact” to avoid injury while getting its message across so clearly! 😃👍❤️
That is exactly right. The owl wants the raccoon gone, but it would be very unwise to risk being injured. An injured raccoon probably will survive, an injured owl probably will not.
Awesome video. The owl's colors are absolutely amazing when you see how he / she totally blends in with the surroundings. Nature at it's finest in all regards. Thanks for sharing.
Our pleasure! Thank you for your kind comment.
And The Owl looks straight into the camera multiple times!🫵🤣✌️🇭🇲
Yes, he does.
Owls are completely silent so there's no way to tell where they're coming from when they attack.
The owl was like a small child. “If you don’t leave I’m going to talon you.”
It took me a second to get that. Very clever.
Very clever indeed.
🫵🤣✌️🇭🇲
Every now and then we have an owl appear out in our trees a few hours after sundown. When he/she give out its calls, it makes for such an incredibly serene moment.
raccoon, "there's monsters under this bed!"
This made me laugh!
Owls are beautiful and fascinating animals!
You can also see its mates eyes in the distance watching the encounter
It's actually a cell phone tower.
@@TexasBackyardWildlifereally? I couldve swore it was some kind of bird.
Well I'll be damned lol
Owls soft downy feathers makes them silent flyers,so this raccoon had no idea until it felt those sharp talons in its back. Great footage.
True. The owls are silent. I don't think the owl really hurt the raccoon - he just wanted to frighten him off, he didn't want to risk a fight (lucky for the raccoon).
beautiful owl
Beautiful bird, amazing camouflage
A key part of the camo that sticks out is the little grey parts that look like bark chipping off a branch
It is astonishing how much the owl's plumage blends into the live oak branches and bark, isn't it?
good for the owl! i had raccoons squatting in my attic and they caused all kinds of damage..
Same thing happened here! Thanks to neighbors that were feeding the racoons without our knowledge.
Put a getto blaster in your attic and play that crapy millennial music . Apparently racoons don't like loud noises .
I have black snakes in my attic. Nothing dares to live up there.
@U Betcha birds aren't sensitive to capsaicin
Wow! You have captured wonderful wildlife vignette.
raccoon thought he was seeing ghosts
Yes! The owl was blindingly fast and completely silent. I think the raccoon quite literally didn't know what hit it.
Getting dive-bombed by a bird can be a scary thing, even when they don't touch you. Once a seagull swooped at speed at my head, without making contact, but which made me realize I must have been in a nesting area (which I couldn't see through the tall grass). I got out of there quickly. But how lucky you are to have this much rarer view of a great horned owl! What a beautiful face, and the feather "designs" are a work of art. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Stephanie. I was once semi-attacked by a nesting Australian magpie, and it really alarmed me. The bird was nesting near the path I used to get from my apartment to my college campus, and for a few weeks it was a nerve-wracking journey.
That was what we call a drive by “hooting”
OK, you get 10 points for a very clever pun. Thank you.
Now, *that* is funny. You, sir, just won the Internet, lol! 🤣🦉
I have a couple living around my home, I hear them every night.