# Anyone ever heard of owls riding thermals?



## teapartysamurai (Dec 29, 2015)

Not about a pet but about an interest of mine:  Birds!

So, I'm outside and I see two birds lazily riding a thermal.  Now this is very unusual in late December.  Regardless of the unusually warm weather (which we've had before global warming nut cases), but you don't see birds riding thermals in the winter (at least in Ohio).

I thought at first, "NO WAY! It can't be buzzards.  They fly back south in October.  They were big for the hawks we have in our area.

Then I thought, "OWLS?"

We do have owls in our area but you rarely see them, and not in the day time.

Just trying to figure out what rides thermals in December.  

Any ideas?


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## browsing deer (Dec 29, 2015)

Could be falcons.  Owls are mostly octurnal.


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## irosie91 (Dec 29, 2015)

teapartysamurai said:


> Not about a pet but about an interest of mine:  Birds!
> 
> So, I'm outside and I see two birds lazily riding a thermal.  Now this is very unusual in late December.  Regardless of the unusually warm weather (which we've had before global warming nut cases), but you don't see birds riding thermals in the winter (at least in Ohio).
> 
> ...



thanks-----I FINALLY GOOGLED  -----now I know why birds circle buildings in the city--------I never saw such a phenomenon------when I lived "back home" in a semi rural/suburban ALL EVENLY SPACED two story houses.      I got citified in my 20s and was FASCINATED by huge flocks of birds EVER CIRCLING in the same spot
every day when I drove home-----sheesh   It as an UP DRAFT-----who knew?.   It seemed magical to me.     In my city the pigeons do it ALL THE TIME   (and other birds too-----at first I thought it was a "HOMING"  thing)


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## irosie91 (Dec 29, 2015)

Uhm.....    just an impression----I may be wrong-----I thought owls are not the best FLIERS  of the birds of the air------more like chickens       ??????      I never saw an
owl in the wild


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## teapartysamurai (Dec 30, 2015)

irosie91 said:


> Uhm.....    just an impression----I may be wrong-----I thought owls are not the best FLIERS  of the birds of the air------more like chickens       ??????      I never saw an
> owl in the wild



Oh owls fly all right.  They are silent predators.  Probably wasn't owls.  I usually only see them fly at night.


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## koshergrl (Jan 2, 2016)

Owls are amazing fliers...it could have been a lot of things. Crows ride thermals. Buzzards, seagulls, eagles, nighthawks (aka bullbats....that's what we used to call them). There are about a zillion different hawks, and they migrate so you can see them almost anywhere. I don't think pigeons do it much but who knows.

Robins are currently tormenting the pups by congregating on the other side of the sliding glass door in back...


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 2, 2016)

irosie91 said:


> Uhm.....    just an impression----I may be wrong-----I thought owls are not the best FLIERS  of the birds of the air------more like chickens       ??????      I never saw an
> owl in the wild



  They're predators. And you dont survive as one if your clumsy.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 2, 2016)

Saw some buzzards riding thermals on Thursday while we were out in the woods doing some shooting and it was a little over forty out.
    Not sure if there's a cut off temp for riding thermals or not,and living in Texas I'm not likely to find out.


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## irosie91 (Jan 2, 2016)

HereWeGoAgain said:


> Saw some buzzards riding thermals on Thursday while we were out in the woods doing some shooting and it was a little over forty out.
> Not sure if there's a cut off temp for riding thermals or not,and living in Texas I'm not likely to find out.




I have amazed hubby by predicting rain when ---'the birds fly low'--------yeah--
I know I am supposed to say  "changes in the barometric pressure"----but its
like some of the operations in calculus--------I learned to do it but ~~~~ do not
know why.       His experience with rain is limited


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## baileyn45 (Jan 13, 2016)

teapartysamurai said:


> Not about a pet but about an interest of mine:  Birds!
> 
> So, I'm outside and I see two birds lazily riding a thermal.  Now this is very unusual in late December.  Regardless of the unusually warm weather (which we've had before global warming nut cases), but you don't see birds riding thermals in the winter (at least in Ohio).
> 
> ...


I'm in Ohio as well and was seeing Bald Eagles migrating well into December. I was working right on the lake front and was amazed to see sometimes 2 & 3 at a time. Normally only see such things in Sept - early Oct.


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## Alystyr (Jan 13, 2016)

baileyn45 said:


> teapartysamurai said:
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Ohio here, too.
Bald Eagles are a definite possibility, since their numbers are increasing. I've seen one in Columbus, OH, and one over Deer Creek State Park. I actually saw one eating on a road-kill deer in Ross Co. Ohio last winter. I can't find the photo at the moment, or I'd post it.


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## baileyn45 (Jan 13, 2016)

Alystyr said:


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I'm in Cleveland and used to go out west to the Magee Marsh area (world class birding) to see eagles. They've been steadily moving my way. I live west of cleve now (N Ridgeville) and we have at least one nesting pair returning yearly. I've heard people in a town called Lakewood which is the first suburb west of Cleve say there is a resident pair around all summer. I'd have to wait for a nest sighting to confirm but it is exciting.

About 7 or 8 years ago I was at Maggee and saw 7 bald eagles sitting in one tree and 4 more in the next tree over.
Unbelievable.


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## Coloradomtnman (Jan 13, 2016)

When I was about 600 feet up a rock climb in Yosemite, I saw a raven BASE jump.  It simply hopped off the side of the rock, fell for about 500 feet and then right before it hit the trees, spread it's wings and zoomed out over the valley above the tree tops.  Makes me want to be reincarnated as a raven.


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## Alystyr (Jan 13, 2016)

baileyn45 said:


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I've been to Magee - great place, for certain.
From what I've heard from first-hand reports, eagles are becoming more common along the Scioto River, with a couple of nests being seen as well.
Makes sense, since their primary diet is fish.
Highbanks Metro Park even has its own eagle nest now.
To think that Ospreys used to be exciting... lol


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## baileyn45 (Jan 13, 2016)

Alystyr said:


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That's funny. I got into birding by accident, wandering into Magee when part of it was still called Crane Creek ST Park. I was going to hike with my dog then realized the "park" was pretty much just the board walk. From going out there for years eagles were no big deal. It wasn't until years later that I saw an osprey in Athens, Ohio. At that time it was as exciting as my first eagle.


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## Luddly Neddite (Jan 13, 2016)

Coloradomtnman said:


> When I was about 600 feet up a rock climb in Yosemite, I saw a raven BASE jump.  It simply hopped off the side of the rock, fell for about 500 feet and then right before it hit the trees, spread it's wings and zoomed out over the valley above the tree tops.  Makes me want to be reincarnated as a raven.




No ravens where I am now but I've rehabbed quite a few. I really love them. 

I don't have the photos on this computer but we got 6 hatchlings in to rehab and OMG, what a gas they were to raise. We put them in a big cardboard box so we could get to them easily and put the box in a separate room. Any sound would wake them and they would scream for food. They started out as little balls of fluff but that box filled up really quickly and their huge bills would be gaping and screeching for food.

When they were old enough, they went into a flight cage where they self fed but still got fed their special diet. You didn't dare go in that cage with glasses or jewelry on. They would land on my glasses and hang upside down to pick at my teeth. They would steal the glasses or pick off buttons if you let them. You couldn't help but giggle at their antics but those beaks could make you cry. 

One didn't make it, one had a congenital defect of one wing and was placed but the other four were all released. 

Where I am now, we have crows. So far, I've rehabbed only one and I look forward to more. Corvids are just incredible birds and sadly, in some areas, they've been hard hit by west nile. 

To the OP, to my knowledge, owls down ride thermals but no matter how much I study about various wildlife, just when I think I have a clue, I learn something else that contradicts the previous info. They will glide for short distances, as from a tree to the prey they've been watching. When they do that, they are unable to see anything else around them. That's why they get hit by cars. Because our roads are made slightly higher in the center, water runs off, causing faster growth of weeds/seeds along the sides. Rodents feed on the seeds and owls hunt the rodents.

Not all owls are nocturnal. Some are strictly diurnal, some are crepuscular and some will hunt almost anytime. The one time owls won't hunt is during windy or loud storms. Most hunt as much or more by sound than sight. Their hearing is so acute, the noise of the wind makes it impossible for them to triangulate in on prey sounds.

Except for the ground dwellers, owls are excellent flyers. The bird you saw could have been a hawk, falcon, eagle or vulture.


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## Luddly Neddite (Jan 13, 2016)

baileyn45 said:


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Boy do I understand that. We have bald eagles all year long on our lake but seeing them never gets old. We can see two nests and watch them raise their kids every year. Love it. 

Here's a couple of links to eagle cams -

Raptor Resource Project Birdcams

DNR EagleCam

For anyone interested in Red tails, Pale Male's story is fascinating. There are a lot of links but here's one to start with.

Palemale, Blue, Lola, Paula, Lima, Zena & Octavia...just can't stop watching them!


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## baileyn45 (Jan 13, 2016)

Luddly Neddite said:


> Coloradomtnman said:
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On the subject of crows, have you ever seen this story about a captive crow making tools? Really incredible stuff.

Crow Makes Wire Hook to Get Food


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## Luddly Neddite (Jan 13, 2016)

baileyn45 said:


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There are some terrific videos of crows using tools. My favorite is the one who uses passing cars to smash nuts. 

crow using tools - YouTube


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## Alystyr (Jan 13, 2016)

baileyn45 said:


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It can be funny what difference only a couple of hundred miles makes.
When I went to Magee, I ran into this photographer that was going the same direction as me and we walked together for a bit. I was admiring the eagles and he said they have them all the time. Then he's see birds such as the Red-tailed Hawk or Eastern Bluebird and get excited. I had to laugh at that - in my area, it's rare that those *aren't* seen at that time of the year.
Really need to get back there this year.


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## baileyn45 (Jan 13, 2016)

Alystyr said:


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As I mentioned earlier my first trip was to hike with a dog. It happened to be during the warbler migration and there were 350 people on that boardwalk. Blew my mind. A few years later I spent an afternoon with a couple from Germany. I asked why they were here and they said to see the warblers, I said no I mean why are you in the US.
They said, TO SEE THE WARBLERS. I couldn't believe it. I grew up in Cleveland, who knew?


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