Adventures With Mel & Syd: Adventures with Mel and Syd

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

Monday, April 29, 2013

Adventures with Mel and Syd

Treat Report: 3 Treats Delivered:
1st - Gopher 8:58p (Adi), 2nd - Gopher 1:21a (Hunter), 3rd - Gopher 2:25a (shared).

Mel arrived with a gopher 8:58p. Adelaide enjoyed the 1st treat. Sydney left on flyabout 1:07a & while out Mel delivered the 2nd treat 1:21a another gopher. Hunter enjoyed that one.

Mel dropped by & entered with the 3rd gopher 2:25a. With the treat still in his mouth, he looked at his kidz, went to the door, turned around, dropped it then left. Adi wasted no time claiming it but instead of eating her food she played with it. Hunter seeing her having fun wanted to play to. He did & eventually left the well tenderized treat in the pantry for later. Both attempted to unzip the treat 3:48a but to little avail.

Syd returned 4:48a (3 hr 41 min flyabout). She checked on the kidz making sure everything was ok. Not noticing the play-toy (treat) which the kidz blocked from her view, she left 4:50a. Syd quickly darted in startling the kidz 5:53a. Long hisses like a snake or leaky hose were heard. What was the reason for her not so graceful entry? As seen on palm cam, she was being chased by crows. The kidz continued to hiss for several minutes while Syd stood guard.
As morning progressed the raucous caws of crows were replaced by the sweet melodies of morning songbirds. Once Sydney determined all clear, she shredded the remaining treat, feeding both but saving the last big chunk for Hunter.

Kanga had a duck family in his yard yesterday. They were initially in the front yard street-side

He had to herd them out the correct gate to find the green belt. Mission Accomplished!

The owlets Facial Disc are starting to fill in. Many are unaware of the importance the disc plays in the barn owl means of survival. Its more then just a pretty face.
(noun) A concave, relatively flat, forward-facing arrangement of feathers on a bird's face that helps direct sound to the bird's ears for more acute hearing.

Facial discs are most prominent on owls, and the shape, size and coloration of the disc, as well as markings within it, can be vital for proper species identification. Birds with facial discs can control the orientation of the feathers on the edge of the disc to focus sound, especially in flight. This allows hunting birds to fine-tune their flight to successfully capture prey by following the tiny, nearly imperceptible sounds of mice, voles or insects under the snow or deep in grass.