I haven't either - never held one or looked at one while someone else held one (think zoo). When we were out in the country I always enjoyed standing on our back deck watching the bats fly at dusk. We had about 6 at one time, but after the tornado came through it took a couple of years before we saw one out there again. The screech owls were cool to watch too, they were especially active for a few weeks before the young left the nest. There was an old birdhouse up in a tree they took over every spring. I think all but one year they were there. It was kinda funny... in the fall/winter, squirrels would use that birdhouse. It was big, designed to be 6 units, 3 on each side, but the squirrels had chewed out the interior walls making it one big nest. Anyway, in the spring after the squirrels left, the screech owls would move in. They were a mating pair - we'd see both in and out until the young were gone.
