Lure of the Owl

The Great Gray Owl near Kingsville has certainly drawn a huge crowd.  How many have gone to see it?  Probably over 2000!  Hard to say, but big crowds seem to appear every day.
While listening to CKLW news at noon today, another segment about it was on the air.  The MNR and OPP were concerned as there have been complaints of people not being mindful of safety and also not giving the owl space.  You should stay up to 40m from it!
I thought that it was funny as this fearless owl practically land at your feet!  While most people would not deliberately approach the owl, this creature will approach humans.
It is true that some people are all over the road and are not mindful of traffic, so safety is a concern.  I have seen this before and some people just do not use common sense.  Human nature for some I guess.
Maybe it is time for this owl to move on.......and some people should move on once they get a good look.  Get your look and go.
I am afraid it would not be me reporting an owl like this on the listserv.  It creates too much of a circus--many rarities do anymore. (my opinion).

Owls are very intriguing to people.  There is just something about them.  Local owl prowls attract dozens of people of all types.  It is incredible really, as I heard one local prowl attracted over a 100 people!

I think owls were the first bird I ever remember as a youngster.  When I was very young, I recall my parents pointing out owls sitting on the fence posts in the backyard.  Obviously they were Screech Owls.  I was probably only four years old, but the sight is etched in my mind!
We have always had Screech Owls within Wallaceburg, and even now you may get a glimpse of one.  Just this evening, I heard one in the yard giving its tremolo sound!  Strangely, this is the first one I have heard in the neighbourhood since last winter.  They are getting scarcer as the larger and older trees are disappearing and more lights are up.  I think there are too many lights as practically every pole has a street light.  Also, some neighbours seem to be afraid of the dark as they have to have their outdoor lights on all night.  Seems to serve no purpose except contribute to light pollution and waste energy!

parent owl keeping watch

Years in the past, a family group would show up in the yard in April.  Been a while since I have seen that happen.  They are amusing to watch.  One time I watched the parents catch earthworms and feed them to the youngsters at dusk.

 The Youngsters

It is a good owl year for at least Snowy Owls as you know.  Actually it is huge invasion year as many areas have reported multiple individuals.  It is certainly the best winter I have had for them.
Addendum:  Spotted a Snowy Owl today January 11 just west of Wallaceburg on my way home from work.

Maybe this weekend I should go out and look for some owls.....

This Week

There just has not been much going on lately.  Winter is holding on for the most part!  Nothing new to report in birds here, but I did notice more Red-winged Blackbirds and Tundra Swans today.

The St. Clair River is still jammed with ice to the north end of Sombra.  I took a quick ride upriver late today to look at ducks and gulls.

Recently we have been hearing reports of dead Screech Owls.  Several have been found dead in Wood Duck boxes and other places.  One can only conclude they starved.  The winter has been very harsh needless to say with continuous snow since early December.  Many boxes have also been found with a lot of Downy/Hairy Woodpecker feathers.  Are the Screech Owls trying to eat those as a last resort?  These have been found up at Bickford Oak Woods.  Boxes were cleaned out at the end of January and more feather were seen since.  Interesting...

Scene from the past

 

Not sure what I will do tomorrow.  As usual, the weather looks terrible for the weekend.  It is a spring thing!  Nice during the week, but come Friday the clouds roll in, wind picks up and it rains!  I remember one spring it did this from late April to late May every single weekend!