In March of 2015 we had a small furry-feathered visitor who arrived early one morning on our sidewalk which runs along the south side of our attached-to-the-house greenhouse.
I would never have known it was out there had it not been for the agitated cawing of Croakie the Crow who resided in our greenhouse. Those who study crows know they make different bird calls depending on what they want to convey. This was an alarm cry and it woke me from a sound sleep. As I looked into the greenhouse to see what was troubling Croakie I saw a small creature walking along our sidewalk in the early morning light. I did not recognize its size, shape or walk. Sorta looked like what I would guess an alien from outer space would look like with its over-sized eyes and old man walk.
I took a couple of photos with my phone then hurried back to the bedroom to awaken Bob. By the time we opened the front door and peered out, the critter was gone! I was so disappointed. Bob went back to bed and I continued to look through the windows awhile then got dressed and walked outside.
There, on a tree branch right above our front porch perched a baby owl. I suppose the branch was ten feet or so above me so the owl was out of reach but close by. I got out our camcorder and set it up to record the movements of the owl.
We called our favorite birder, Bill West, and he and Carol came over to look at what we had. Bill identified it as a Great Horned Owl and I promptly named him Little Horny. We surmised he/she had flown over to our place from the older cottonwoods to the south of us across Highway One, and ran out of energy before reaching our trees. This story has a happy ending. Horny's mother fed him a week or so before he flew to a more remote location in another Cottonwood north of our place. It took me awhile to find his new home but I did. Now it is mid February 2025, time for Great Horned owls to mate and lay eggs. I am hoping we have a nest nearby that I can watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment