News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The very common barn owl, but not very common in Sisters.
Gary Landers of Wild Wings Raptor Rehab here in Sisters is no stranger to barn owls. He often receives young owlets, who for one reason or another were found all alone on the ground, on the floor of an old barn, or just out wandering around flightless, homeless and parentless. He then proceeds to care for them in a big flight cage, feeding them hundreds and hundreds of mice, and eventually teaches them to fly.
You gotta see the last part: It's a hoot!
When said owls have been flying for a while, and it comes time to release them into the cruel world, he either returns them to where they were found, or in some cases releases them in an area where rodents abound.
Sisters is not the place. The outskirts with irrigated hay fields are wonderful, but downtown Sisters? Not on your life. So, you can imagine Gary's surprise when he was out walking his dog in the forest of Sisters and suddenly a barn owl flew out of a tree right over their heads! Imagine my surprise when I answered my phone and Gary shared this sighting with me! First of a kind, as far as I know.
What that lone owl flying around in the daylight may tell us is that: 1. It's in all probability a newly fledged nestling-perhaps from Madras or Redmond - and it was out looking for new territory to exploit for mice and other rodents, or, 2. It ran out of darkness while migrating, and was trying to sleep in the shade of a pine forest.
Barn owls are the most nocturnal of all the owls. They just do not enjoy being awake during the day. Perhaps because they are so efficient at catching and eating nocturnal rodents, and have such exceptional night-vision, they prefer hunting at night. In any event, I have seen barn owls high up in a barn, turn their faces to the wall when disturbed in the daytime, maybe trying to hide.
Barn owls are international in range. The same species of owl Gary saw flying over his head in the pine forest of Sisters is found in Germany, Switzerland, China, Patagonia, Brazil, Australia, etc., etc., and they go way back in the fossil record. The only place you cannot find barn owls is in the Arctic and Antarctic.
They are the best rodent eradicators I know.
That may be why, in 1971, barn owls suddenly appeared at Fort Rock - or at least that's the year I first noticed them. To my knowledge, they did not exist at Fort Rock in the '50s - and neither did all those thousands of acres of irrigated hay fields with kajillions of rodents.
If you want to enjoy one of nature's spectacular summer shows, spend the day at Fort Rock exploring the birds and reptiles; then, just before dark, take your comfortable lawn chair out between the rock and the hayfields on the east side, sit down and make yourself comfortable. If you have someone along with exceptional hearing, you will know when the adult owl leaves her nesting cavities to go hunting. The little ones start shouting and squeaking in a very high-pitched voice, "Go get 'em, mom! I'm starving! I'm starving!"
The most astounding part of this wonderful show is that when mom is on her way back - maybe a mile or more from the nest in the cavity of the old mud volcano - the kids either see or hear her coming. They begin that high-pitched squealing and hissing that ends abruptly with gobbling (and laughing) sounds when mom or dad brings home the bacon.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)