44 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2015
P
est control is a challenge for
every gardener, especially
preventing damage caused by
rabbits. As great horned owls are
predators of rabbits, many garden
supply stores sell realistic owl decoys.
Brad Moser of Hickman purchased
several of these life-sized great horned
owl decoys to deter rabbits from his
flower beds. He placed them around his
barn, putting one in the barn's upper
window.
In January he noticed a great horned
owl flying in and out of the barn, and
a month later he spotted two heads
popping up through the barn's top
window. Although Moser had heard
owls on his property before, he'd
never seen them nesting in his barn – it
seemed that the decoy had attracted
them.
Through binoculars or the lens of
his camera, Moser observed the owls
perching next to the decoy, even
leaning against it. "The mom might
have been using the fake owl to guard
the chicks while out hunting," Moser
More Than a Decoy
Story by Callie Rietfors, photos by Brad Moser
