For several days before we left, I had seen sometimes one, sometimes two, but never all three of the owl family. I was sorry to note that Olive was the one we didn't see any longer. I figured she had flown to wherever these owls go when their families are all grown up. Ivan and I hoped that she would drag Oliver back here next February to restart their familial activities. Oscar and/or Othello were seen each day before we left. They had grown used to my visiting them a couple of times each day, sometimes calmly watching me behave like a raving lunatic when the blinkety-blank jays were in their hysteria mode. We wondered what, if anything, would happen while we were absent from the yard.
We got home very late on Wednesday evening, so the owl check had to wait until morning. In the morning I got up while it was still dark and walked around in the redwoods as it got light. I saw no owls. I was sort of expecting that, but was disappointed nonetheless. Much later, at around 7:45PM (beginning to be dusk), I did the nightly check and, lo and behold, there was Othello gazing down on me from a branch about 8' up Tree #3. I spoke quietly to him and asked where his brother was. He said nothing. I took that to mean that perhaps Oscar was still well hidden. (Pay attention now - this is the REALLY good part of this episode!) As I continued my walk the jays began screeching and one of them was just above me. I loaded a rubber band in my gun, aimed carefully through all the foliage and shot. The rubber band hit him!!! Took him completely by surprise, pissed him off and he flew away, hollering and complaining. I danced a little jig and continued with the search. (For those of you who may worry about my being mean or cruel to the jays, hitting the bird with the rubber band from about 12' away would be equivalent to throwing a marshmallow and hitting the bird. The jay didn't even lose a single feather, but was he ever mad!)
I walked around Tree #4 and, with my binoculars, I spotted Oscar waaay up, just under a tangle of branches. He, of course, had spotted me long before that! I told him how delighted I was that he was ok and I went back inside the house. I told Ivan of their presence and he asked if they were in a good spot for a photo. I said I thought Othello was, but Oscar was not. We went outside around 8:10 (by now it was truly dusk) and both kids were preparing for their nightly hunts, both in Tree #3. Othello stretched one of his wings, scooted out from right next to the trunk of the tree and flew - absolutely silently - about 3 branches away, but still in #3. All of a sudden, a third owl - OLIVE! - landed on a branch near Othello, after flying about 3' above our heads! I was outwardly quiet, but was shrieking with delight to see her. She spent a few seconds looking at us and then she and the 2 kids were off.
Telling these three owls apart is actually still pretty simple. I KNOW Olive, almost on sight, and Othello still has his baby fuzz around his face. As they prepared to go hunting, they had fluffed their feathers out and looked about twice their actual size. When they're roosting during the day, they look so small and vulnerable.
So, that's the latest from Owl Central. We're off to Norway in about 12 days, so the owls truly will have the yard to themselves. It would be so wonderful if they staked a claim to our yard and stayed here, or at least came back next season.
