Speaking Owl

Over the last few years I have been getting more interested in owls. I've seen several Barred Owls around but I have yet to see a Great Horned Owl. While fishing about an hour before dusk I've heard owls hoot several times. I wonder how many times I ignored them in the past. Some of the sounds owls make are like nothing you'd imagine. Especially the sound of owls caterwauling. I've heard this once and it actually freaked me out a little. It sounded more like a monkey than a bird. It's fun to hear the owls but I want to see one up close. A lot of people use owl calls to draw them in. I started to research owl calls and found out some interesting things. I never knew this but owls and crows hate each other. If you call one you can attract the other. An owl call is also commonly used when turkey hunting. I looked for a reason why turkeys respond but never found any scientific evidence to support theories. The next step was looking for the right call. There's so many calls out there for specific purposes it can get daunting. I finally ran across Primos Hoot Flute.

The reviews of this product made me pull the trigger. Many of the buyers were using this call to attract owls and not for hunting. I have always been impressed with people who can use animal calls. It seems like a skill that's a integral part of a hunters arsenal. I wasn't sure if I had the patience to work with this and get the call right. When the flute came I was surprised at how large it was.

I couldn't wait to try it out. I opened the package and went outside immediately. Primos made this flute fool proof. It took about a minute or so before I made sounds that were what I think at least are similar to an owl. There are holes on the side of the flute that give different pitches to the call. The other calls I looked into have a kazoo or duck call tone to them. The Hoot Flute has a more deep owl sound. I expected crows to start flying overhead any time. I did see crows but they didn't seem to care about the call that much. They kept flying by. Other birds were landing on trees nearby. Were they attracted by the call? I don't think so. My expectations were kind of silly. I seriously half expected to go outside blow this thing and hear an owl. Even in the middle of the day. My neighbors came out and game me funny looks but I found the more serious you look even when doing something strange people will dismiss it. 

My favorite part was having my son try it. It was magic to see his face light up when he made a little hoot noise. "That's an owl thing!" he said. This call will be fun to play around with when we're hiking in the woods.