Tuesday, April 27

Tuesday Dose of Cute: One of the Neatest Birds I've Ever Seen

And the Winner of Flyaway by Suzie Gilbert!

Screech Owl (1)
More photos thie little screech owl here

Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway for a copy of Flyaway: How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings. All of your neat stories about birds and wildlife rescues (click here and scroll down to the comments section to read them) have been so heartwarming and delightful to read. I definitely think you're the perfect audience for this book!

Congratulations to the random winner, Nicolita! She said:
When I was about 9, we moved to a few acres in California's Central valley. Every spring clouds of birds would nest in the pine trees that my grandparents had planted in the backyard, mostly Brewer's blackbirds, scrub jays, the occasional mocking bird. And every time we had a strong wind I would race our beloved calico cat, Spicy, to reach the baby birds that would fall to the ground.

Sometimes I even made it in time, and my dad would help me mix up a little peanut butter watered down enough to go through a dropper. They were so incredibly fragile, sometimes they were so young you could actually see through their skin, pretty gross. But I couldn't stop scooping up those poor little things, no matter how many times I faced the inevitable failures. Yes, I'm afraid most of them died. BUT...one time we actually suceeded. And seeing that scruffy little scrub jay fly off made all the other times pale in comparison!

Screech Owl (2)

As for this gorgeous little screech owl, it was the bright spot on an awful day back in January of 2008, which you can read about (and see more owl photos) here. That was the beginning of a long and horrible sheep killing spree by coyotes that went on for several months, and at the time I published the owl post, there was no end in sight. Fortunately things have changed, and you can read about how here. Thanks to Daisy and Marta, our amazing livestock guardian dogs, we sleep much more soundly at night and (knock on wool) haven't lost any sheep to coyotes in over a year and a half.

Watching that owl was one of my favorite farm moments, and I'll never forget it. To this day, the son of the donkey peddling cowboy, who was just four when he and his dad stopped by and saw the owl, still brings it up nearly every time I see him, which makes the experience just that much more special.

Want to read more about farm life?
6/3/05: An Unexpected Beginning (my very first blog post)
7/31/05: When? Soon (Living on Country Time)

5/14/06: A Tiny Tail for Mother's Day (the story of baby Cary)


3/13/08: Cary, No Baby
3/19/08: Flood Watch

Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the fine feathered foodie farm blog where birds of a feather definitely stick together.

12 comments:

  1. What a wonderful moment with this amazing bird you had at the farm that day..! That must have been one of those moments that just stay with you forever.

    And Greta..! Susan, she's the sweetest little thing..! And I love that she was just...well, quieter and not as bouncy, as you said. A girl after my own heart, really.

    Hope you are well, dear.

    xoox,
    -maria

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  2. Congrats, Nicolita, and enjoy!

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  3. Oh wow I won! Thank you so much! That is the most beautiful little owl I've ever seen btw...

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  4. Congrats! Those are such great clicks! That owl is soooooo cute!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. Congrats, Nicolita, Now that you, and not I, have won the book, I definitely need to get out and purchase a copy for myself.

    Susan; When we were on a farm with goats, and coyotes around that occasionally got to them, we were told to get a Llama; that it would protect the goats. We did and Jo-Llama did his job. Never saw another Coyote on our farm. All they need is shade from the sun and they are pretty much okay in the winter. Check it out!

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  6. The owl is gorgeous, love to hear them! We have coyotes in our back yard and we live on the edge of a subdivision! Llamas are great protectors; I know of an alpaca farm that has llamas for that very reason. Great post and congrats to the winner!

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  7. Owls are amazing creatures! I remember camping way up north and woke in the wee morning hours to the songs of a group of owls in the forest. It was one of the most majestic camping experiences I've ever had. Beautiful pic.

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  8. I enjoy your web site so much. The interesting and colorful photo's, the recipes and the down home feel. We gave up the city life also, after 20 years serving the country in the Air Force. Now we have a garden and I use and enjoy the helpful hints from your site, to plan and decide what to plant. We also have chickens and recycle their 'fertilizer' in the garden and then enjoy a good fried egg sandwich. Isn't God good?
    I am looking forward to your next post.
    Linda
    Olympia, Washington

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  9. Recently a friend on Facebook was telling about the time an owl came and perched outside of her family's big picture window where they were all gathered around a table. They were amazed at this unusual sight. However, within a short time two of the people at the table died unexpectedly. This brought up interesting commentary about how seeing owls is a harbinger of death. I believe this is supposedly in indian folklore as well. Recalling your precious owl pictures I returned here to see if anything bad happened to you following the sighting and, indeed, it had. Wow!! And I used to think it would be so fortunate to see this beautiful creature. Now I know differently.

    Dana

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December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

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