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

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Adventures with Mel and Syd

We all had terrific views last night of the preybox and surrounding areas of the yard, kanga panned the cameras and we saw the owls perching on the fence under the owlbox. Arial views of the owls flying in the sky and at times we saw 3 flying around , chasing and playing. Deets, screeching, and twitters from the owls who are sounding very adult like now.

The treats are getting incrementally fewer and night before kanga had well hidden survivors in the morning, "so they get the night off anyway - and owls didn't actually score much - so had to look in the fields and perhaps found where the wild things are."

Last night the main cam wasn't inside the PB, but rather right over under the small fence.

 *Information about the nesting owl box from kanga -
kangawatch> box goes up when i get round to it - still much to do, but that's not an excuse - once up and owls decide to reside, then it's hard to mess with the tech stuff (new carpet, gotta clean inside yet, rehab both cam systems, weathrproof .. long list.  seriously though...   The whole thing has to be reliable, untouched once up, for safe nesting and uninterrupted hi-quality viewing for months - worth doing right. Not in a hurry - July/August is not the best time to bake owls - but also a good time to blow the dust off a fishing pole and take a break - box will be back up soon (likely later this month) and we are not risking a mating pair moving in right now for many reasons - OB will be back up soon enough.