OMG teh kyoot it hurts so moishe

[snousle]

Saw an owl with my own eyes for the very first time today! A little saw-whet came to our birdbath and splashed around for about a minute late in the morning. John has seen them before, but since it's right outside his desk window he spends a lot more time there than I do. It would have been impossible to get a photo, but they look like this:



It was all SO PAINFULLY CUTE I had to take a shot of insulin afterwards.

They're small birds, about the size of a quail. They're common, but very shy. We hear them every night, and you'll sometimes catch a glimpse of one in your car headlight, but they're hardly ever out and about during the day.

Comments

[jstregyr.livejournal.com]

I've seen small burrowing owls hopping around in vacant undeveloped lots in the South Bay, hunting for prey during the day while walking to lunch.

They are teh kyoot, too (though not as teh kyoot as your saw-whet ;-).

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

You have a fair amount of wold life up there. How about black bears?

[snousle.livejournal.com]

An old individual was caught on film with a game camera last year, but they are quite rare in this area. In contrast to the bear buffet up in Laytonville...

The most hilarious wildlife spectacle is when squirrels are attacked by woodpeckers. It's like something out of a Warner Brothers cartoon.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

What prompts the woodpeckers to attack the squirrels?

[snousle.livejournal.com]

The woodpecker families maintain acorn caches, which the squirrels try to steal. Often, the whole flock will attack the squirrel at once. They're pretty fierce!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_woodpecker

[barbarian-rat.livejournal.com]

Maybe that is where they go some of their ideas :)