More on the owls

I've posted a few times on the barn owls that have been hanging around the house lately.  As a former city girl, I've enjoy seeing them up close.  It got me thinking.  I was raised in an area that was ALL concrete.  The only area that was not concrete were the lawns in the suburbs I grew up in and at the neighborhood park.  We didn't even have abandoned or vacant lots with dirt.  It was strictly concrete and blacktop in my town.  That might be what helps me appreciate my life up here in Gavilan Hills.

Well as I said, there's been more activity with the owls lately.  A few nights ago two of them there squawking and carrying on, swooping down on each other and such.  They circled over my driveway, garage and roof.  I realized the next morning what the fight was over.  We found half of a dead rat on the roof.  My husband climbed up on the roof and kicked it off to the ground and I snapped the photo for your viewing pleasure.  The dilema this raises is: 1) I love the owls but 2) they are hanging around our house because there is obviously a plentiful food source. 

Such is country life....the mostly good with the occasional not so good. 

Good morning Mrs Owl

I leave for work before the sun is up.  My headlights catch her perched atop my iron gazebo almost every morning.  Her snowy white face is hard to miss against the dark hills. 

owl

Yesterday while driving home my car startled a great horned owl sitting in a tree on the side of the road.  The owl took flight in the same direction my car was traveling.  The owl was within arm's length of my passenger window.  He kept pace with me for about 75 or 100 feet before he made a quick turn and was out of sight.  I was in awe of his size and the good fortune of being able to see him so close up.  What a treat!

On the flip side, when I drove into the garage I found a mouse caught on a glue board.  Yuck!

Owl

The last few weeks a pair of Barn Owls have been hanging out around our house.  They frequently perch on our gazebo or on a nearby telephone wire.  One evening at dusk two of them were having a wonderful "conversation" of "whoooo'ing" each other back and forth.  It was so loud we heard it from inside our house over the sound of the TV.  What a wonderful sight to see when we stepped out to the patio.  Well we've been experiencing a bit of mouse traffic lately and I suspect that's why the owls are hanging out near the house.  These owls are excellent mousers.  They are nocturnal.  They work for us catching rodents during the night and the hawks work during the day.  It's quite a crew we have! 

I was out for a walk one day a few years ago and I spooked a barn owl from a small crevice in the side of  hill.  It was a neat sight to be so close and watch it take flight.

This last photo is some evidence that the owls were working diligently for us one night.  I found this poop (filled with bones) on top of my fence.  Kind of gross but I would rather find this than a mouse!