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! 

hummingbird in the garage

He wouldn't leave!   I left three garage doors open for three hours and he wouldn't leave.  Here he's sitting on a wire that is attached to the motor of the garage door opener.  My husband had to practically throw a blanket over him to get him out.  Check out his size in comparison to the standard electrical plug on the left.  He's tiny.

western screech owl

These birds wait on perches to swoop down on unsuspecting prey; they may also catch insects in flight.  I see them all the time early in the morning on fence posts and telephone poles.   Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, and birds, and large insects. They are active at night or near dusk, using their excellent hearing and night vision to locate prey.  We hear them every night as they screech in excitement when they find their prey.

Three amigos

Yesterday evening, about an hour before sunset, I was sitting quietly on my patio when I heard the cries and howls of coyotes break out.  Some were close and others were farther away.  I narrowed it down to three different locations that they were calling each other from.  I then spotted two of them about 100 yards from me and about 100 yards from each other.  One then trotted to the other while the third continued calling out from the farther location.  The two who were quickly near each other waited for the third to join them as he was on a distant hill and it took him about 5 minutes to make his way to the first pair.  What I found really interesting is that when the third coyote approached the first two he acted like a youthful puppy approaching a parent.  He wagged his tail in delight, he playfully jumped on the back of one, and then he fell off on to his back in a playful roll.  He was so happy to be reunited with his family that he couldn't hide his glee.  From the first howl to the reunion it lasted all of about 7 or 8 minutes.  This reminded me of footage one would see in a nature documentary. 

I call him Mohawk

I put up a hummingbird feeder and quickly figured out the following:  Hummingbirds are territorial. A male will guard a food source and chase others away (with the exception of breeding females).  I named this little guy Mohawk due to the scruffy feathers on top of his head.  

He guards this feeder by sitting on top of the pole.  The feeder is located between two trees and he will perch in the trees and chase off any "intruder" that dares enter his domain by crossing back and forth between the trees as needed.  While there is lots of chirping and squawking, the fighting may crest into a few pulled out feathers but it mostly just ends up with Mohawk chasing off the intruders.  I've enjoyed watching 3 to 4 other birds trying to give him the slip and drink his nectar.  He'll chase one away and the others will fly straight to the feeder for a 5 second drink before he returns to chase them off.

Hummingbirds guard a territory of about a quarter acre. 

No joke

I just heard a knock at my door and I looked out the window to find a roadrunner standing on my welcome mat.  He took off, ran down the path, and jumped up on top of my gate then turned to look back at the door.  The wild life out here is fascinating.  Just when I think I've seen it all a roadrunner plays ding dong ditchum on me. 

Bats

I like natures best pesticide - BATS!

We have an enclosed entry to our front door.  When we first built our house we noticed small bug excrement collecting in the outdoor entry way.  I didn't know what it was coming from. 

Then twice in one week we found a bat to be perching inside the entry way which explained the guano.  I talked to my exterminator and he said the easiest way to get rid of bats is to put in a small night light.  So now I have a sunlight sensitive nightlight plugged in at the front door and it keeps the bats away. 

During the last few nights the weather has been great so we've been out in the early evenings watching the bats chasing bugs in the last few minutes of sunset. It's really cool to watch their silhouettes against a colorful sky.  While we only see 1 or 2 bats at a time, I thought this pic was kind of cool.

While searching the internet to borrow some bat pictures I found the two strange pics below. 

While I think the bats are wrapped up cute and snuggly,

who the %&## is wrapping bats up like babies?

bird head, beak, and spine

The husband says this is gross, but I think it's interesting.  Found it in the garden. The spine was only attached by one or two tiny remaining fragments of tissue and was ready to just come free of the skull.

quail family

Daddy is on the far right, Mommy is looking back at the babies on the other side of the fence.  There were about six little chicks following the parents out for breakfast in the grass one morning.  Dad always keeps the lookout while Mom herds the gang around.

squeezing the bird

Late last night my husband asked me to retreive something from our back patio.  We had been entertaining the night before and a few items were left behind.  I picked up what he asked for and I noticed a crumpled party napkin sitting on the seat of a lounge chair.  Keep in mind it was quite a dark night outside.  As I grabbed the napkin, I told myself that it didn't feel like a napkin.  I dropped it and then tried again.  It still felt strange.  I decided to leave it and pick it up later during daylight. 

When I returned the next afternoon the napkin was gone.  I searched the yard to see if it had blown off the chair but there was no sign of it.  It immediately dawned on me that it was not a napkin I had grabbed.  It was a live bird that was snoozing on the chair.  I instantly realized that I had felt wings and feathers in my hand, not a napkin!   OMG!