Author: NecroFile  <...>    76.90.116.10 Use this link if you want to link to this message and its entire thread of discussion. Post a Msg
Date: 1/21/2016 10:36:53 PM
Subject: Los Angeles wildlife.

Well, Not in 33 years have I seen what I saw at a trail in the hills at the middle of night. These "hills" are the mulholland drive hills, its a hilly area but populated with large houses everywhere, so it's not total wilderness.

I was walking with my dog when I heard very loud and distinct hooting. It was directed right at me, both a male and female were hooting at me. Obviously it was an owl, which is not rare but certainly not common around here, I have seen barnyard owls before, but they are very uncommon, and I thought "woah cool, I wonder what they want" Then shortly after thinking this, two GIANT birds fly directly across my path, about 30Ft away, and about 15ft in the air. THEY WERE ENORMOUS. GOD DAMN THEIR WINGSPAN WAS FUCK-HUGE, ALMOST LARGER THAN ME.

It was a pair of Great Horned Owl. I looked up the species online and it says the California subspecies are supposed to be the smaller of them, but I am starting to think diet also effects how they can grow. Yes, nobody in LA is aware these creatures exist, but they do. And they will eat anything. It says many people blame their missing pets on Coyote but fail to realize this owl is far more likely a culprit. There was a time several years ago where I was hiking an alt-route of this same trail that lead further up this mountain when I came across a leg of deer, stuffed with live hornets which I will assume were eating away at it. But the deer leg was of a young deer. I am positive these owls just decided to snatch a deer one day and carry it up this mountain.

So the next night I go back to the same trail, and to my surprise, out of nowhere I look to my left and I see exactly that looks like a large cat up in the tree. It was just sitting there, I think it anticipated my direction of travel and choose to land there to greet me again, but it didn't make any sound so perhaps it was spying on me, the only reason I saw it was because the silhouette was accented against the moon perfectly. It was perched on a thin branch maybe only 15ft away, but I just stood there, amazed. They totally look like large housecats, and they have a distinct personality too. They are territorial which is their concern, They never see humans in this area at the time of night I visited, but this second encounter I had them assured I was not going to bother them, It was a very chill moment of understanding.

It is very unnerving seeing a bird which is LARGER THAN YOU up close. This is not typical of birds, but I have actually seen a larger bird before. I did get a very close flyby from a california condor in broad daylight once, and that is the largest bird on the western hemisphere and one of the largest on earth!