click for more wonderful birds
Barn Owls
As there is very little bird activity here (at least none that I haven't already shown you), I am reaching back into my archives for some fun pictures.
In the olden days the Barn Owl had the reputation of being a harbinger of death. People were frightened when they saw them because they thought that somebody they loved was going to die. It is understandable because they appear silently, all white and their call is a blood curdling scream.
These juveniles were raised from eggs to nestlings by us and then transferred into a mew with surrogate parents. The mother and father were both injured and unable to be released, but were wonderful parents to their little adoptees. A favorite story is when we were watching them on camera, the father lined the babies up and then took a mouse to each one. Once he accidentally gave a second mouse to the same baby and when he went back to get his next mouse, he realized his mistake. He went back and took the second mouse away from the deliriously happy baby and gave it to the next sibling. We were pretty amazed. The Barn owl is actually a beautiful bird and the farmers friend as they feed on voles in the farm fields. Since so many small farms have failed and barns are fading from the landscape they have been disappearing from our area. These juveniles were raised and released with telemetry so we could study where they were going and why they were disappearing. Some of them were found as far away as Louisiana and others just disappeared like their predecessors ... Sadly.
Happy WBW Everyone ...
Andrea
P. S. Just for fun, Stewart :p
19 comments:
They're one of my favourite birds. Great images and what a wonderful story.
How exciting to raise these amazing birds! These are stunning photos!
Amazing birds and such incredible captures, Andrea!! They really took my breath away! Hope your week is off to a great start!!
Hello Andrea, what a wonderful story. I love the Barn Owls. It is sad the farms and barns are disappearing..Great post..
Lovely images of a species I don't see very often.
Beautiful serie! They are so cute!
My birdpost: https://hanshb.wordpress.com/
Absolutely stunning photos - and a great story. We had barn owls that lived in a barn on property we rented one time. The greatest thrill was when we would be driving home at night and the owls would fly ahead of us - searching for food along the road - what a sight.
That was quite a story. I love those birds and you made them look a little different.
Thanks for sharing the story. :)
How wonderful to have raised these beautiful Owls.
I do love owls. And the story of the owl parent realising his error is priceless.
Great story you were lucky to be able to watch them.
they are quite spooky looking. :)
Awesome owls! Actually took me a minute to realize that first one was a photograph! The lighting threw me off - what a great photo!
Iowa Voice
What a neat series! They do look rather spooky. I haven't seen a barn owl since I was a child. I don't remember being frightened of them.
That's an interesting barn owl-anecdote. :)
They look majestic. And look at those glowing eyes.
Awesome pictures, Andrea.
What a fascinating story about the father owl . And the fact that you helped raise them . I might have already told you ( old age creeping up) but I have only ever seen one owl - I saw it from my kitchen window just on dusk . It was on a neighbour's big beautiful gum tree. I will never forget it!
Great owl story. Love the faces of these beauties.
I love owls and this was a wonderful post. I enjoyed the story about the father owl.
I love the barn owl images, and especially the story about the father owl. Families are families no matter if they be humans or wildlife.
Is anything starting to pop up from your ground? Like maybe a crocus or snowdrop? Nothing will be popping up in my yard for another couple of months probably, so it will be nice to see Spring showing up in other folks yards.
So far, vacation is going just super. It's going by too quickly though. We couldn't ask for better weather. Pogo is having a grand time giving everyone who walks by our little porch a piece of his mind. The staff here are all glad to see him back again.
Today is our lazy day. Tomorrow we'll be back out exploring and taking photos. Now I think I'll take my bottle of water and my yarn, and sit out on the porch and crochet a while. You and Izzi have a wonderful day my friend. Hugs, Edna B.
Post a Comment