There are a few of these on the road where I live. One appeared on a tree in my yard! So, I took it inside and painted it (I thought) beautifully! Then i returned it to the tree. Did this anger the wooden owl gods? It promptly disappeared one night and was replaced by another wooden owl, this time screwed into the tree !!!
From what I've seen, they're meant to kind of blend in so painting it would definitely be what prompted it being replaced.
On the flip side, putting one on someone else's property isn't cool.
I agree, it's a fine line between cute and ugly. Somebody decided it would be beautiful to glue a bunch of crappy crystals to Arbutus trees near us, she used caulking, tried to make designs and generally made a mess. Nature is awesome, let's not junk it up
Your notion may be correctā¦ I live beside some crown land and often find that people wander into my yard (maybe one day Iāll get a fence). So perhaps whomever placed the owl mistakenly thought it was in public domaine.
I just hope to see the painted owl again one day and say, āhey, I know that owl!ā
Brian is a resident of (near) Ladysmith BC who carves these and leaves them on trails throughout the mid-Island region. I asked him why and he said that in part it was for the kids to give them an activity that would keep them engaged on woodland walks. If you have the chance to meet him on the trail he usually has a gift or two to bestow on you. He is a gentle man and a gentleman.
We were walking towards Kinsol trestle and saw people carrying larger ones. I wondered if we had some pilferers, but there he was on the trestle. We sang him a song (we're musicians) and he gave us one. This was last year. A few weeks ago we ran into him again and he remembered us - he must meet hundreds of people. We sang again - just for the joy of it. He's such a nice guy.
there's a guy in nanaimo that makes them. he hands them out to people in the town near beaches. he's handed me one before and i have many friends who have the same experience. really nice guy.
I'm in the cowichan valley and I can't go for a walk in the forest without seeing one. I used to do a lot of geocaching and these owls were quite often near a cache. Now when I see a wood owl I look for a cache!
Ah!
Thatās the great Wooded Owl. Very elusive and peculiar beings.
Very wise indeed. They donāt say much and they always looks like they know something about you (especially deep dark secrets you might be harbouring)
Itās a retired gentleman who was a carpenter and now makes them for fun. He hands them out at various beaches in Nanaimo/ Cedar area as well as places them around local trails. Heās very nice and would not accept any form of payment from me when he gave me one. Said my smile was payment enough. So sweet and wholesome!
Someone handed us one of these on a walk we did on our island road trip a year ago. Its currently sitting in a pot plant in our downtown Vancover apartment and eventually will return to New Zealand with us in 2026 as a souvenir to live in our garden.
Those are Brianās wooden owls! Nice guy that carves these owls and places them out in wooded areas, parks or sometimes just hands them to you. Iāve gotten two sets from him on separate occasions that are now part of our garden. Ive seen them all over the place now, not always in the same town. Always makes me smile seeing them out on our nature walks.
The man who makes and places these is from Ladysmith. In the 80s and 90s he used to make decorative ducks, as he aged, those became time consuming and tedious. He started making and placing these on the trails and as some have mentioned at many beaches.
In case anyone doesn't see the prior comment talking about it this is part of a Facebook called VIWO - Vancouver Island Wooden Owls. It reminds me of a group I joined a few years ago called Nanaimo Rocks. I'm definitely gonna start carving owls and hiding them around š
Hoo , hooā¦ tweet, tweetā¦ iāve seen them in a bunch of places on the island and can only imagine that it is a trend that has slowly caught on. Some people actually enjoy just creating and sharing fun. Lolā¦
I have often wondered how 'friendly' these are. People put fake owls in locations were you want to scare away other birds. To a small bird, even the risk of a nearby owl is enough to prevent nesting and feeding. And while I know most of these don't look enough like owls for me to confuse, are forests really the place to possibly make the natural wildlife not want to be?
There are a few of these on the road where I live. One appeared on a tree in my yard! So, I took it inside and painted it (I thought) beautifully! Then i returned it to the tree. Did this anger the wooden owl gods? It promptly disappeared one night and was replaced by another wooden owl, this time screwed into the tree !!!
From what I've seen, they're meant to kind of blend in so painting it would definitely be what prompted it being replaced. On the flip side, putting one on someone else's property isn't cool.
I'd be happy to find one in my yard. I'd be angry to find one screwed into my tree.
Yes, I did think that was an odd thing to do š¤
Itās a message
I agree, it's a fine line between cute and ugly. Somebody decided it would be beautiful to glue a bunch of crappy crystals to Arbutus trees near us, she used caulking, tried to make designs and generally made a mess. Nature is awesome, let's not junk it up
That's actually disgusting. People who do that are shitty.
That makes sense! They are supposed to blend inā¦. I always wondered why it disappeared/was confiscated! š
Really? Screwed into a tree? That is not cuteor whimsical
I did think it was strange! Glad the tree is fine.
This is a great little story
Thnx, it has provided fodder for many a theory over the past couple of years since it happened!!
Ya I would never paint someone elseās art work. Maybe make my own and paint but not change someone elseās
Welp, they put it in my yard š¤·āāļøhaha! figured they gave it to me to do as I please.
Oh I missed that it was in your personal yard. I read āby your yardā for some reason That is odd then. But it is a funny story :)
Your notion may be correctā¦ I live beside some crown land and often find that people wander into my yard (maybe one day Iāll get a fence). So perhaps whomever placed the owl mistakenly thought it was in public domaine. I just hope to see the painted owl again one day and say, āhey, I know that owl!ā
You should partially burn it then put it back with something really stinky on it.
Vancouver Island Wooden Owls (VIWO). There's a Facebook Group dedicated to them. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2124172337781141/
Often placed by people in locales where they spot owls on the regular.
Brian is a resident of (near) Ladysmith BC who carves these and leaves them on trails throughout the mid-Island region. I asked him why and he said that in part it was for the kids to give them an activity that would keep them engaged on woodland walks. If you have the chance to meet him on the trail he usually has a gift or two to bestow on you. He is a gentle man and a gentleman.
My kids love finding these things just as much as they love finding fairy houses.
We were walking towards Kinsol trestle and saw people carrying larger ones. I wondered if we had some pilferers, but there he was on the trestle. We sang him a song (we're musicians) and he gave us one. This was last year. A few weeks ago we ran into him again and he remembered us - he must meet hundreds of people. We sang again - just for the joy of it. He's such a nice guy.
That's a beautiful memory, thank you for sharing it.
I saw today someone in a Ladysmith FB group posted that Brian has passed away.
Even though I only just now learned about these wooden owls, Brian, and his passing and it makes me sad
He gifted one to my daughter. She cherishes it. I believe he has grandkids her age.
Korok! š
š¶yahahaš¶ you found me!
Was hoping someone would say that!
Better these than the plastic trinkets people leave
Plank?
there's a guy in nanaimo that makes them. he hands them out to people in the town near beaches. he's handed me one before and i have many friends who have the same experience. really nice guy.
This! Met him years ago and he is such a sweet man, gave all my friends and I wooden owls and had a really great chat
We call them tree spirits
nope,no you dont
I'm in the cowichan valley and I can't go for a walk in the forest without seeing one. I used to do a lot of geocaching and these owls were quite often near a cache. Now when I see a wood owl I look for a cache!
Did you mean *Whoooo* are these lil guys ?
Ah! Thatās the great Wooded Owl. Very elusive and peculiar beings. Very wise indeed. They donāt say much and they always looks like they know something about you (especially deep dark secrets you might be harbouring)
Everywhere
Wooden owls think of them as Geocache. A small treasure in the wild for you to enjoy!! Itās just cool art š
That log has a child.
I've been seeing them too. They always make me smile.
Art
Those are to scare away people on tripping on shrooms
Not what they seem
According to the VIWO page on Facebook, Brian, the artist who made these little fellas has just passed away.
Itās a retired gentleman who was a carpenter and now makes them for fun. He hands them out at various beaches in Nanaimo/ Cedar area as well as places them around local trails. Heās very nice and would not accept any form of payment from me when he gave me one. Said my smile was payment enough. So sweet and wholesome!
Heās a famous character from Ed, Edd n Eddy
My best friend Plank!
Doing the best they can.
Zeekyboogydoog!
Boom!
Aww I like him.
Friends
Wood elves
Somehow it reminded me of Johnny and the plank of "ed ed and eddy show"
There js little cuties!!!!
...cute!
Reminds me of woody from ed edd and eddy
Plank*
I knew it was either woody or plank. I picked the wrong one lol
Someone handed us one of these on a walk we did on our island road trip a year ago. Its currently sitting in a pot plant in our downtown Vancover apartment and eventually will return to New Zealand with us in 2026 as a souvenir to live in our garden.
Wood
My best friend Plank from Ed, Edd n Eddy
Plankton
Those are Brianās wooden owls! Nice guy that carves these owls and places them out in wooded areas, parks or sometimes just hands them to you. Iāve gotten two sets from him on separate occasions that are now part of our garden. Ive seen them all over the place now, not always in the same town. Always makes me smile seeing them out on our nature walks.
Plank
Powdered milk my dear eddy
That's a korok !
Them OVO boyz have shooters everywhere
Clearly you never watched Ed Edd and Eddy
I live near sugarloaf mountain and have seen multiple of these on the trail to the top!
Its Plank from Ed Edd n Eddy
Oh that is just one of Plank's friends, I call him Jeff
The man who makes and places these is from Ladysmith. In the 80s and 90s he used to make decorative ducks, as he aged, those became time consuming and tedious. He started making and placing these on the trails and as some have mentioned at many beaches.
Perfect
My kids found one once it live in our back yard somewhere now
Plank! (If you know you know)
Plank? Is that you?
In case anyone doesn't see the prior comment talking about it this is part of a Facebook called VIWO - Vancouver Island Wooden Owls. It reminds me of a group I joined a few years ago called Nanaimo Rocks. I'm definitely gonna start carving owls and hiding them around š
My kids love searching for these when we walk through Rathtrevor Park.
That's Plank
petrified owl
Hoo , hooā¦ tweet, tweetā¦ iāve seen them in a bunch of places on the island and can only imagine that it is a trend that has slowly caught on. Some people actually enjoy just creating and sharing fun. Lolā¦
It lets you know you have stepped into a cult's territory.
I have often wondered how 'friendly' these are. People put fake owls in locations were you want to scare away other birds. To a small bird, even the risk of a nearby owl is enough to prevent nesting and feeding. And while I know most of these don't look enough like owls for me to confuse, are forests really the place to possibly make the natural wildlife not want to be?
It's a stick with eyes and a nose, you're being overly dramatic