March 10
I had just begun to wonder about the owls again when one flew up to the tree just next to my back corner oak. I’d heard a long series of hoots in the night, and this time the owl flew back over the berm and landed on a branch just above another owl, then hopped down and perched next to it. Soon they appeared to be kissing, but they were sharing food, their beaks leaned together. I blinked, and one was gone, so I watched the other and then slipped back into the house where I grabbed the binoculars, hoping to watch from inside. But now it was gone, too! I looked out from upstairs a few minutes later, and there it was, in the pine tree. I don’t know for sure which owl was which, darn it.
What was that second owl doing? Were they mates? If so, what's going on in my hollow?!?! If the chicks have hatched, the mother may be out now. Of course, other owls live in these woods. I've seen as many as five at one time, playing in the same area out past my fence. Some say the chicks spread out and go to live in nearby forests, but the Cornell Lab of Ornithology now says we really don’t know what they do. They haven’t been banded and tracked much, so maybe they don’t always spread out.
The owl stayed in the pine tree hideaway for several hours. When I got home from my workout and visit with Mother, it was still there.
March 11
I’ve mentioned that I feel like I’m summoning the owls telepathically with the prosperity chant I learned on my yoga retreat. Twice, they came right away when I was chanting and hoping for them. It was at the normal time of day for them to come, but they don’t show up every day, especially not this year. If I’d simply sat down outside and silently prayed or talked to them, or even just sat and watched, I believe they would still have come. I think the chant just kept me busy and focused instead of fretting, and I think that's how meditation and prayer work, too. It doesn't always change circumstances--it does a better job of changing me, and I realize that I don’t have, and don’t even need or want, any control over them.
I would never try to call them by imitating their hoots or playing a recording. That can be dangerous if they think you’re a rival.
Canada geese are flying over now, from the lake, honking in two different pitches, like creaky mattresses. Walking by the lake up the hill from my house, I often see ducks, hawks, buzzards, great blue herons, green herons, and even, once, the bald eagle that lives here. Last summer I had a big quiet black bird perched in one of the leafy trees in the back of the yard and watched it with the binoculars. According to my birding sources, it was possibly a young bald eagle. I’d love to think it was. The white feathers come along later.
March 12
I took Charlie out in the moonlight at 4 a.m. and heard a weird squawking sound like an animal of some kind, maybe a rabbit or a frog, coming from Ryan's or Sean's yard. I think it might have been prey picked up by an owl or a cat. Hawks don’t hunt at night.
March 14
Charlie and I sat on the deck while he ate his breakfast. I recorded all the bird calls on my Merlin app--it immediately listed a dozen. No surprises, though. They were common birds that I've seen in my yard or up at the lake. Charlie and I sat outside as it got dark last night, too, and I slept with the window open. The morning birds always soothe me.
The neighbor who built the tall fence on the left side of my backyard came over to tell me that he's going to have the fence replaced as soon as the weather allows. It's leaning and has lots of holes in it, which we've placed boards and wire over, and gaps under the bottom. I asked if he'd seen any owls and he said yes, there's one in his two big trees “all the time!” So I'll watch those trees more closely. He said they're going to cut the huge limb that hangs way over into my yard. I pointed up and said, “That one?” and he said yes. They plan to start the work tomorrow, weather permitting.
It's Friday, and I haven't seen any sign of the owls since Monday. I tell myself and others, again, that I'm not going to worry. I work on recognizing the fact that the owls don't owe it to me to appear. There are too many explanations right now for where they might be, but still I wonder. Have Charlie and I scared these skittish ones away? Have crows or raccoons interfered in any way? Are they proceeding as normal? So there go those thoughts again, partly because I’m writing about them and I want to have something to report and to put on display.
These owls are stealth owls, resting in new and different spots, hiding and appearing out of nowhere. Looking for one is like looking for Waldo, only without any distinctive red and white stripes. Their feathers blend in to the tree trunks, but usually when I see one I recognize it immediately because it’s an oval shape perched out on a limb. The abundant squirrel nests in these trees have irregular shapes, and sometimes they can look a bit like an owl, enough for me to get the binoculars out.
Another children’s book I think of, of course, is the Harry Potter series, in which most of the owls deliver messages to their companions. I see my owls as comforters and messengers, but they seem to be wearing Cloaks of Invisibility this year.
It’s not easy to stay calm when there's so much sadness and tragedy in this world, but I try to. Breathwork and yoga help. Jesus also said not to worry and not to fear because God takes care of the birds and us, but he also said it’s not always going to be easy.
March 15
Charlie and I just got back from a walk. I'd been looking up in all the neighborhood trees just for good measure, and when we got to the cove, I saw the male owl, in a smaller pine tree in the “cove grove” of trees. He was facing away from the street. I was overjoyed. We came through my front gate and I walked up on the deck to see if the owl would be able to see the hollow oak from his post, and yes, he could. Whoops—he could see me, too, and I didn’t want to spook him. I came back inside, briefly considering taking a photo of the little grove where he's perched, but I thought better of it, since he seemed to be hiding.
I think he's camera shy, maybe more than he was last year, if he's the same one from last year, or maybe he’s only being crow-shy and cautious. He’s certainly more reclusive. I'm more and more convinced that last year's male owl was new, and that 2021 was the last nest for the first pair. After that, we had two rough years where we saw owls but had no chicks, and I’m not sure either or both of the original owls is still alive. That was eight years ago, and the average lifespan of a barred owl in the wild is eight years. I still don't know if we’ll see any chicks. I'm just happy I saw the one I believe is the dad. The Cornell Lab website says that it takes about two years for a chick to begin mating; these owls could be very young and inexperienced.
At 6:14 p.m., Charlie and I were sitting in the bird room window when an unidentified owl suddenly flew to the entrance of the hollow from behind my roof, looked into the cavity for a minute, and flew to a branch of the pine tree. I’d heard crows cawing over in the far corner of the woods just past my fence, and at first, I thought the female owl had come out of the hollow.
But when the owl landed in the mouth of the hollow, the crows flew into my yard and started mobbing and attacking him. He flew over to the woods across the berm to the right of my yard, where I could see them surrounding him. He then flew across to the area of the woods straight behind my gate, with about six crows making tentative strikes. Three or more of them flew away, so he must have defended himself well.
After that he flew back over into my yard and perched on a series of small branches, staring down the crows, before going back to the mouth of the hollow. I slipped out of view and watched to see what he would do next. His body was turned into the hollow with his head turned back out, looking up, down, and around. Soon, he left the hollow again and flew over the house, back to the front yard, in the direction he’d come from, and the video above documents that flight.
I went out to my front yard. He was back in the same little pine tree where I’d seen him earlier, with two crows he hadn’t gotten rid of.
When I reviewed the Nestcam footage, I realized that I’d only seen the very busy male. They look so much alike. I can say, though, that this owl has a whiter face and body than most. It was exciting, since I haven't seen activity for about a week. I kept watching until about 7:30.
Finally, not long before dark, the male owl flew back again from over the house into the backyard, perched on a tall tree in the grove, waited a minute, and saw me sitting in the breezeway. It took off and glided smoothly over into the woods across the berm, the same area where the crows chased it earlier, and hooted. Thank you for that hoot, Owlie. I haven't heard you in several days. I'm hearing a hawk now, and a flock of geese. Dusk is a busy time for the birds. It's also a great time for Charlie to get the zoomies, which he has right now.
As my sister-in-law said when her baby started coming, "we've got action." But exactly what that action is, I don't know.
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