“Great Horned Owls” have to start somewhere!
The desert is an amazing place to live. Occasionally we’re reminded we share this plot of dirt with desert critters. One morning my next door neighbor woke early to let his dogs out. As he was unlocking the sliding door, he noticed “the ugliest, mangiest dog I’ve ever laid eyes on” drinking from his pool. It took a moment for him to realize his visitor was a coyote. A big mean one that would have torn his dogs to bits. Apparently those suckers can jump six foot fences.
We had a slightly less threatening encounter with nature in January, when I looked up to see a huge hawk standing in my back yard with a fat gray pigeon in his clutches. I mentioned in that post that we’d also been hearing and seeing Great Horned Owls in the neighborhood.
This week we found out why. They’d been procreating in our palm trees! On Tuesday my other neighbor stopped by and led me to the cactus in between our houses. There, perched precariously on a 20-foot cactus, clung a baby owl. He was as curious about us as we were about him. Soon the whole neighborhood was sneaking around the corner to marvel at him. I think he was just trying to figure out if we were food.
The next day he flew only to the next highest cactus. And then to the palm tree, where he hung upside down, trying to figure out this flying thing. Concerned, my neighbors called Arizona Fish and Wildlife and they came and rescued him. They’ll keep him until he’s fully grown, and release him into the wild in September.
Here’s our little slice of nature:
Just hangin' out. What d'you want? Are you Food?
Cheers,
May nature come and visit you in a gentle way today.
Beth
©2008, Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All US and International Rights Reserved.
