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

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Adventures with Mel and Syd

Still not sure when to catch the first of the nights arrivals. The owls have spent the past several weeks arriving to the nest site right on time. Generally the owls fly in about 8:25-8:30p PST



1:20am this morning viewers saw perhaps the same Opossum we saw a week or so ago go into the prey box. It spent over 15 minutes inside and almost unseen as it dined. Some thought perhaps it was a large rat or a ferret.
This was the only screen capture our mod NightOwlet was able to get of the critter.

From Wikipedia -Opossum's are Didelphimorphs and are opportunistic omnivores with a very broad diet. Their diet mainly consists of carrion and many are killed on highways when scavenging for roadkill. They are also known to eat insects, frogs, birds, snakes, small mammals, slugs, and earthworms. Some of their favorite foods are fruits, and they are known to eat avocados, apples, clementines, and persimmons. Their broad diet allows them to take advantage of many sources of food provided by human habitation such as unsecured food waste (garbage) and pet food. Ferrets are obligate carnivores. The natural diet of their wild ancestors consisted of whole small prey, i.e., meat, organs, bones, skin, feathers, and fur. Ferrets have short digestive systems and quick metabolism, so they need to eat frequently.

We had 3 owls again at the prey box and as kanga mention last night - kangawatch: "As I mentioned last night we are alternating nights with only a few treats (go out and look for more yourselves) and then a night with a few more the next ... gradually all nights will become the "I'm still hungry" type."