western australia

An owl on the watch

@JudyEv (345445)

Rockingham, Australia

January 10, 2023 5:07pm CST

On the verandah of our house-sit, is this owl. Our friend where we spent New Year also has an owl like this. They are supposed to scare away other birds but I’m not sure how well they work. There still seems to be plenty of little bird poos on the outdoor furniture. Maybe after a certain amount of time, the little birds realise the owl isn’t going to harm them. Today we travel to a new house-sit but just to check it out and to be told what our duties will be. There will be more to do there I think but much of it will be making sure the pets don’t run out of water on the very hot days that we’re expecting.

27 people like this

27 responses

@rebelann (113178)

• El Paso, Texas

11 Jan 23

I hope the new house sit will also have a pool for you to enjoy.

5 people like this

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@rebelann (113178)

• El Paso, Texas

11 Jan 23

Oh well, if there's no pool then there's always the shower, right?

2 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

We've just come home from the new place and it doesn't have a pool but it does have air-conditioning so we'll be okay.

2 people like this

@Treborika (17853)

• Mombasa, Kenya

11 Jan 23

Me too here

2 people like this

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@thislittlepennyearns (63442)

• Defuniak Springs, Florida

11 Jan 23

I don't know if they scare other birds but they scare our great dane

5 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

Do they really??

Some dogs really are big wimps. And often it seems the bigger the dog the bigger the wiimp.

3 people like this

@thislittlepennyearns (63442)

• Defuniak Springs, Florida

11 Jan 23

@JudyEv he's afraid of a lot of random stuff. They nailed it with Scooby-Doo doi

4 people like this

@Juliaacv (52087)

• Canada

11 Jan 23

Our former neighbours had an owl very much like this one on their fence. They told me it was to scare away bats. They had some large old trees where we used to see bats come out of at sunset, so I do not think that it worked very well.

5 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

From what I've read and heard, nothing seems to be very afraid of these owls.

3 people like this

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (318962)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

10 Jan 23

It's probably like the scarecrows that don't scare crows away either. How did you get involved in house-sitting? It sounds intriguing.

5 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

Birds aren't as stupid as we'd like to think. As regards house-sitting, I was talking to a friend who was having trouble getting someone to house-sit and I offered our services. From there, it's just been word of mouth.

3 people like this

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (318962)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

11 Jan 23

@JudyEv That's great!

2 people like this

@Deepizzaguy (106252)

• Lake Charles, Louisiana

10 Jan 23

Nice looking owl sitting outside of your home.

5 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I thought it was a very good looking owl too.

3 people like this

@RubyHawk (99404)

• Atlanta, Georgia

11 Jan 23

Birds are smarter than we think.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

They are indeed.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 Jan 23

@RubyHawk Occasionally, birds seem to disappear from an area. I've no idea why.

2 people like this

@RubyHawk (99404)

• Atlanta, Georgia

12 Jan 23

@JudyEv I saw hawks flying over yesterday, first time I've seen them in a long time.

2 people like this

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@ptrikha_2 (47332)

• India

11 Jan 23

I once remember seeing an Owl from quite close. I was on a office stay in a Hilly place, a bit far from my home city. It was quite an experience. Also I think Owls don't feel much scared by humans. Water becomes an important consideration during the summer times.

3 people like this

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@ptrikha_2 (47332)

• India

13 Jan 23

@JudyEv That sounds very interesting. Seeing and knowing about various Owls this way could be quite informative as well.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

They sometimes display owls here at fairs and other events.

3 people like this

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@jobelbojel (36449)

• Philippines

11 Jan 23

Hmmm I wonder how it's suppose to scare other birds.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

An owl is a predator so the little birds would be afraid of it. But I think they soon learn that it isn't real.

2 people like this

@DWDavis (25805)

• United States

11 Jan 23

We have an owl similar to that at school to keep birds from pooping on the metal roof. It doesn't work.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I have the same opinion. Birds soon learn it's not a real thing.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (472442)

• Switzerland

11 Jan 23

Birds are smarter than we imagine, after a while, they know that there is no reason to fear the fake owl.

3 people like this

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@LadyDuck (472442)

• Switzerland

11 Jan 23

@JudyEv Some people put fake cats to scare them, they go on top of the fake cat after a while.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

That's true. They wouldn't be scared off for very long.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 Jan 23

@LadyDuck I thought this seagull was very disrespectful to the late Queen. The photo was taken in Glasgow. Actually, I'm guessing it's Queen Elizabeth.

2 people like this

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@wolfgirl569 (111064)

• Marion, Ohio

11 Jan 23

People try things like that in gardens here. I do think you need to move them around

4 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I agree. You'd have more chance if you moved them to a different spot each day.

3 people like this

@kobesbuddy (78871)

• East Tawas, Michigan

11 Jan 23

One time I was walking Kobe down our street. He got defensive and started barking, at what he thought was a real dog. Nope, it was a statue of a black dog on someone's porch, it looked similar to Kobe!

4 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

Our kitten performed all sorts of contortions in front of a cat statue once. It was pretty funny.

3 people like this

@kobesbuddy (78871)

• East Tawas, Michigan

11 Jan 23

@JudyEv When the statues look real from a distance, pets can't distinguish if they're real or not!

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 Jan 23

@kobesbuddy That's very true.

2 people like this

@LindaOHio (183856)

• United States

11 Jan 23

I love owls and have an owl collection. The birds probably do recognize that the owl isn't real.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I don't think the birds would be fooled. Do you know how many owls you have?

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jan 23

@LindaOHio I remember my sister had one made of shells once. She probably still has it.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (183856)

• United States

12 Jan 23

@JudyEv I have about a dozen, including a Cybis porcelain owl.

1 person likes this

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@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

11 Jan 23

My neighbor keeps owls like this in his garden to keep crows away.

3 people like this

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@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jan 23

@CarolDM That's interesting. There hasn't been any other positive comments about its effectiveness.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 Jan 23

Does he, or you, think it works?

2 people like this

@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

12 Jan 23

@JudyEv He said it worked and kept it up for many years.

1 person likes this

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@snowy22315 (184808)

• United States

11 Jan 23

He's watching you!

3 people like this

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@snowy22315 (184808)

• United States

12 Jan 23

@JudyEv Put some clothes on woman!

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 Jan 23

I was skinny-dipping. That's why he looks so disapproving.

2 people like this

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Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (16618)

• Raurkela, India

11 Jan 23

That's a lovely owl. Small birds will get frightened of it at first but not for long.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I'm sure you're right. They would soon work out that it wasn't real.

3 people like this

Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (16618)

• Raurkela, India

12 Jan 23

@JudyEv I think they would stay together once the birds get used to the owl.

1 person likes this

@lazydaizee (6735)

• United Kingdom

11 Jan 23

I have a similar owl in my garden. It was originally used as a finial on a roof, we brought it from an antiques fair a few years ago. Ours definitely does not scare other real birds because we have dozens of them in our garden, this is okay until they poo on my washing.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

Birds don't really care where they poo, do they?

3 people like this

@suwardie03 (317)

• Semarang, Indonesia

11 Jan 23

in my area owls are bad messenger birds. those are the words of the people in our village.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

That's interesting. I haven't heard that before.

3 people like this

@suwardie03 (317)

• Semarang, Indonesia

11 Jan 23

@JudyEv if you like horror movies. Occasionally watch Indonesian horror films.

3 people like this

@Beestring (14881)

• Hong Kong

11 Jan 23

That's a nice looking owl.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

I thought he looked really nice too.

3 people like this

Yesinta Mersilia

@yesiisey (267)

• Indonesia

11 Jan 23

i guess it's a real owl looks similar

3 people like this

@JudyEv (345445)

• Rockingham, Australia

11 Jan 23

It is quite lifelike but it doesn't seem to scare the birds.

2 people like this