BIRD LIFE
Them Amazing Critters
The Mystical lives of Birds
NATURES SECRET AGENT
There is a nightly silent predator with skills that far exceed a deadly ninja.
The Barn Owl.
A single barn owl consumes, on average,3 to 4 rodents (mice, rats, gophers)per night. A nesting pair of barn owls may have a clutch of up to 6 chicks and will consume up to 3,000 rodents within a year’s time. Definitely a farmer’s best friend. These slick and silent buggers are one of nature’s most beneficial predators.
Owls possess micro hair-like filaments along their wings that make them perfectly silent. Their prey never has any advanced warning before it’s too late. Also, most owls’ facial shape acts like a radar dish to hone in on the slightest sounds. Owls possess some of the sharpest hearing in the animal kingdom.
Above is a photo from my trail cam capturing the nighttime escapades of a barn owl on top of the owl box that some volunteers and I built and installed at a local botanical garden. If you look closely, you can spy a mouse in its beak. Below, one of the mating pairs returns to the entrance to feed its young.
Wherever you may reside, you can pretty much bet that barn owls are lurking about. They exist on every continent on earth, with the exception of Antarctica.
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All owls, in general, after subduing their prey, will proceed to swallow it whole, head, skin, bones, and all. At least once a day, they cough up pellets that travel through their digestive tracts. The pellets make an accurate record of what the owls have eaten. Since they swallow most of their victims whole, you can find skulls and major bones of various prey. I have donated large quantities of these pellets to some local 5th-grade science classes. They will dissect the pellets to document what these raptors are consuming in their local communities.
As with all birds of prey, the female barn owl is larger than the male. In the sport of falconry, generally only the females (hawks, eagles, and falcons) are used due to their strength and size. Males are occasionally used for their quickness and maneuverability.
Also, four-legged bandits lurk in the dead of night as well. A common raccoon checks out my have-a-heart trap. He confirms his reservation, then proceeds to dine in my fruit & vegetable garden, feasting on a couple of tomatoes, three bell peppers,and a nectarine. Yes, Im counting…!
On my patio, a bougainvillea, a tenant, Anna’s hummingbird nest, finds these two little baby girlies at daybreak, snuggling up nice and cozy. Just as they crossed beaks, I snapped a photo— TOUCHÈ !
*NOTE: Hummingbirds generally nest right below hawk’s nests. This is a protective measure to stay safe. Birds of Prey will not bother hummingbirds due to their size and quickness. However, the proximity of the hawk’s nest scares away predators, particularly the corvids (Crows and jays), who love to feast on hummingbird eggs and their young.
This particular hummingbird family feels so safe on my patio that they return year after year.
Do you have any critters residing at your home or paying you visits? Please share your experiences in the comments…
