Point Reyes Light - April 22, 2004
| OPHANED OWLS – Alex Godbe of the Hungry Owl Project, a division of Wildcare, prepares to deposit this five-week-old barn owl into an owl box in Nicasio. The orphaned owl and one sibling will be fed mice by volunteers until they learn to fly. Live video of the owls from webcams can be viewed at <http://www.hungryowl.org/>. (Light photos by Ivan Gale) |
Nicasio family cares for owls
By Ivan Gale
A family in Nicasio used to raising animals now have two unique mouths to feed in a couple of wild baby owls.
The Rounds family on LaFranchi Lane west of Nicasio Valley Road is the happy recipient of two orphaned owls recently rehabilitated by the Hungry Owl Project, a division of San Rafael-based Wildcare.
The two barn owls, around five- to six-weeks old, were among seven orphaned when a construction crew illegally cut down the tree their nest was in.
Alex Godbe of the Hungry Owl Project said she normally returns the babies to a spot near the old nest. However, construction workers who found the owls gave her a false address, preventing her from returning the baby raptors to their parents.
So the baby barn owls were sent off to "owl boxes" throughout Marin, where volunteers will have to feed them mice caught from local golf courses.
Learning lessons in the art of thawing frozen mice on Monday were Nicasio residents Kate and Ed Rounds and their two children, Conor, 9, and Shea, 7.
The family held an owl-box-making party several months ago, constructed eight sturdy owl boxes, and distributed them around Nicasio Valley.
"I think it’s really cool because most people don’t have that much owls at their house," Shea said.
Conor, meanwhile, said, "it’s going to be fun – we already have four chickens, two cats, a dog, and a bunny, and its going to be pretty amazing to get more."
Owl Project coordinator Godbe said she was thrilled the two owls would have two 24-hour, infrared cameras directed at them, one inside the box and one outside.
The recordings on the tiny birds will be shown at <http://www.hungryowl.org/>. Student groups and local residents alike can monitor the owls’ progress.
Sharpening skills
As they grow, Godbe said the young raptors will begin to pounce on dead mice and even sunlight to sharpen their hunting skills.
The owls are expected to take their first flight in a few weeks. After that the fledglings could stay for up to six additional weeks before flying off for good. (Barn owls only use nests and owl boxes to raise their young, after that they live in trees.)
Kate Rounds, who is active at Nicasio School and hopes to integrate the owls into the curriculum, said, "this is great for the school, it’s great for the environment, and it teaches kids all sorts of things."