SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Friday, July 20, 2012

Morgan Hill Times, Morgan Hill, CA.-
Foster momma Barnadette (in rear), the educational barn owl at the Wildlife Education & Rehabiliation Center, has ceded her housing box to the baby barn owl nicknamed “Burrito Barney”  He appears to be mimicking her “threat” behavior—glaring, head low and swaying, wings splayed.
At other times, Barney joins Barnadette on the perch for a little togetherness. Though his behavior is innate, being in the company of another barn owl ensures that the young owl doesn’t become imprinted on the humans who must come in daily to provide its food. Within a month or so, Barney will say goodbye to “mom” and transfer to a flight cage to perfect his silent flight before he is released back to the wild. Sorta like our kids leaving the nest, going off to college, and making their way in the world.