Looking for the Owl Channel Blog? Click below please for the new location !: Owls, Several sightings last night...! and one past night of our Abouts: )

Monday, December 5, 2011

Owls, Several sightings last night...! and one past night of our Abouts: )

Dec 4 2011 10:00PM Owl On The Roof! Videos by Owlfinn
Owl lands on the roof, looks around, then quickly flies off, then returns again to check out the inside of the box! See next video!

Dec 4 2011 10:01PM Owl At The Hideout! Goes Inside!

Owl lands on the porch perch, looks around outside then inside, goes inside and checks out the Hideout! Beautiful! Is it Dale? Angowl's guess; New Owl.. looks much too hesitant and unfamiliar with surroundings

Possible Owl or Frond? Between the branches... take a look !
Slideshow by Litlvxn
http://www.flickr.com/photos/litlvxn/sets/72157628286854717/show/

Early morning possible flyby by Dkowen

December 4th visitor.. screenshot by Owlfinn

Possible early am flybys? Screenshot by Dkowen

as many know, I am attempting to gather all or most of our "abouts"...
Here is an example of one of our many funny nights, dating back September 23rd to 24th!

deb5054> pEarl had to check on Belle after her fallabout
lisalassie> And even sweeter when standing right next to each other and chirping
heatherjane> maybe no shoviesabout
@DodgerGirl1> TOW's steakbragabout :) or
@couleedam> steakflauntabout
@DodgerGirl1> let's have a chatabout
curiositykitten> is having a workingabout
curiositykitten> now I'm having a whiningabout
BugGirl> But this is the time of year that the males go huntingabout for females. They are perchfaceplanting About.
BugGirl> Oh, pEarl did a perchsquirtabout?
@couleedam> preflightwingcheckupabout
@DodgerGirl1> that was funny up there coulee... nice delayabout
@couleedam> remember the multiple post night? 11:48pm
@Dodgergirl> or the night the molly song played what 17 times
@DodgerGirl1> I just couldn't stop laughing
BugGirl> I missed the multiplemollysongabout
@couleedam> Pearl is going on another flyabout
@DodgerGirl1> they are nearby, can hear them in tree
@couleedam> they are nearby - I can hear them
@couleedam> one is hissing a bit
@couleedam> a hissabout
@DodgerGirl1> http://www.flickr.com/photos/owlcamguy/6173763727/in/photostream
@DodgerGirl1> side by sideabout
curiositykitten> I'm missing the pounceabout?!
bluenoter> So many people at Clyde's that I didn't even briefly meet
@tresbien> we'll call it the Clyde's sundaeabout
@hundon1> They were having a great pounceabout on the perches under the box when I was here at 1.am
Faylababy> Belle & pEarl are back at dusk everynight for dinner ;) hop and dropabouts and general play
hawksarecute> "I'm a little barn owl short and stout, here are my talons, here is my mouth. when i get a gopher i hopabout, eat him down and hork him out."

and today's About word is just in from KSBORN.. we are officially on WaitAbout!!

Excerpt from Lindi's Newsletter:

Barn Owls : What wonderful creatures

Broken Hill and district's recent mouse plague caused

Barn Owls to be in abundance in our area. Barn Owls

are not often seen but are found in every country of

the world except Antarctica. Their scientific name is

Tyto Alba.

Rarely has RRANA had a barn owl in care but now we

have three. The two chicks were found on the ground

a few Kilometres from Broken Hill and a juvenile was

found in central Broken Hill.

They are nocturnal, have distinctive heart shaped faces,

and are sometimes referred to as The Phantom of the

Night, their soft pale feathered wings silently beating

against the darkness of the night sky. Lindy was quick

to seek advice from Matthew Twigs of the UK Barn

Owl Trust on how best to care for and release these

little birds. Raptor specialist Dave Irwin from

Kangaroo Is. was also consulted and gave invaluable

advice.

The Barn Owl's favourite food are mice, but they also

eat small birds, lizards, and insects. Their presence

should be encouraged because a family of four can

consume upwards of two dozen mice per night.

Placing owl breeding boxes on your property will

encourage their presence.

The little owls are now being cared for by RRANA

carers Kye and Gill, are doing well, and will eventually

be released as a group.

12 barn owl fascinating facts

Discover 12 fascinating facts about the beautiful barn owl.
1 The barn owl was voted Britain’s favourite farmland bird by the public in an RSPB poll in July 2007.
2 Historically, the barn owl was Britain’s most common owl species, but today only one farm in about 75 can boast a barn owl nest.
3 Barn owls screech, not hoot (that’s tawny owls).
4 The barn owl can fly almost silently. This enables it to hear the slightest sounds made by its rodent prey hidden in deep vegetation while it’s flying up to three metres overhead.
5 The barn owl’s heart-shaped face collects sound in the same way as human ears. Its hearing is the most sensitive of any creature tested.
6 Barn owls are non-territorial. Adults live in overlapping home ranges, each one covering approximately 5,000 hectares. That’s a staggering 12,500 acres or 7,100 football pitches!
7 It’s not uncommon for barn owl chicks in the nest to feed each other. This behaviour is incredibly rare in birds.
8 In order to live and breed, a pair of barn owls needs to eat around 5,000 prey items a year. These are mainly field voles, wood mice, and common shrews.
9 Though barn owls are capable of producing three broods of five to seven young each year, most breed only once and produce, on average, only two and a half young. 29 per cent of nests produce no young at all.
10 91 per cent of barn owls post-mortemed were found to contain rat poison. Some owls die as a direct result of consuming rodenticides, but most contain sub-lethal doses. The effects of this remain unknown.
11 In a typical year, around 3,000 juvenile barn owls are killed on Britain’s motorways, dual carriageways and other trunk roads. That’s about a third of all the young that fledge.
12 Everyone can help barn owls. Leave a patch of rough grassland to grow wild thus creating habitat for voles, erect a super-safe deep nest box, volunteer for your local barn owl group, switch to non-toxic rodent control