 I've not heard any wheezing for almost two months, but have
heard what sounded like young owls practicing their adult
calls. This
usually indicates that they are prepared to leave their parent's territory
and I suspect that two of them have already done so. The fussing
of smaller birds, a couple of distant glimpses of an owl hunting in
daylight, and several immature classic hoots suggests that one juvenile is
still around. I will not try to
guess whether this picture is of Rufus or Seymour, but the deep mellow voice identifies
him as a male and his call is not nearly as confident and deliberate as
Ward's. When young barred owls leave their
parent's territories, the majority of them seek out territories that are
less than ten miles from their parent's home, but a brave few go much
further. They sometimes travel a hundred miles or more in search of a region
that offers better opportunities. These "explorer owls" serve a
vital function by preventing regional populations from becoming isolated,
while allowing their brothers and sisters to avoid the hazards of such long
journeys. The independence and determination that Seymour showed makes it
quite possible that he will be one of these
brave explorer owls. |
Ward and June are now making several visits to the nest box
each week to assure that no other creature tries to claim it. Some of the
visits are very vocal, with Ward doing his
monkey call while June Wails in the background. Other visits can only be
detected by the sound of a landing on the owl rail and the shuffling of
the wood chips on the nest box floor. The great horned owls that live to
the west of Ward and June's territory have also been quite vocal for the
last month and I expect that their presence is the reason for Ward and
June's silent visits. These visits to the nest box keep it free of
other cavity nesting animals such as the pair of red squirrels that is
raising these two youngsters in a nearby flicker nest box. Red and gray
squirrels are found in roughly equal numbers in Ward and June's territory,
and both have learned to stay out of the owl's nest box.