1 reply to this topic

[hawkeyejoe]

Last night around dusk, i heard this owl in my backyard. So I got my phone and played an audio clip of his call. Next thing, it swooped down from the trees and hovered over me then flew up into another tree. He did this for 20 mins as i kept his whiney call and bounce call going. Then I got my spot light out and saw him on a branch. It was a great look though i had no camera. Ive attracted red shoulderd hawks as well. has anyone else ever had any luck doing this?

[BarnSwallow]

Playing a call too much is really not a good thing to do. You;re stressing the bird by calling it, and some places heve strict restrictions on playing recordings - it's considered harrassment. It's usually OK to play it just enough to bring the bird into view, but that's enough. Sometimes that's even too much. During nesting season, you could be luring the bird away from protecting it's nest, and in winter, you are using up the bird's energy unnecessarily. I would say 20 minutes is way too long.