Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....
Hubby and I had be out of the house early. When we were finished with that, we both got haircuts. Then we decided to go food shopping since we were out anyway. That made us hungry so we stopped to pick up a bite to eat. When we finally got back home, the stupid internet went down for a few hours. (again). After supper we had some company. It was a looong day for us old folks, that's for sure!
Early morning sun shine - it didn't last long.
This little feller was on our table out on the deck:
The gang being let out of run. If I don't walk over there fast enough Charlie starts with his big mouth:
Decided to keep the squash in the tub - it's really growing well in there. We had to put a wire fence around it because the furry kind of critters were eating all the flowering tops.
Spaghetti squash! Yummy!
There were flowers on those stems:
When they get too big and heavy, they can rest on the rocks:
Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia)
are so named because they live underground in burrows that have been
dug out by small mammals like ground squirrels and prairie dogs. They
are covered in brown spotted feathers and have long legs. They also
sport distinctive white “eyebrows” above bright yellow eyes. They are
one of the smallest owls in North America.
Burrowing owls eat small mammals such as moles and mice during late
spring and early summer. Later they switch to insects, especially
grasshoppers and beetles. Burrowing owls are also known to eat birds,
amphibians and reptiles.
Current burrowing owl population estimates are not well known but
trend data suggests significant declines across their range. Most recent
official estimates place them at less than 10,000 breeding pairs.
The young owls begin appearing at the burrow’s entrance two weeks after
hatching and leave the nest to hunt for insects on their own after
about 45 days. The chicks can fly well at 6 weeks old.
Burrowing owls are distributed from the Mississippi to the Pacific
and from the Canadian prairie provinces into South America. They are
also found in Florida and the Caribbean islands. Burrowing owls have
disappeared from much of their historic range.
Unlike other owls, burrowing owls are active during the day,
especially in the spring when they gather food for their large broods.
This species of owl prefers open areas with low ground cover. They can
often be found perching near their burrow on fence posts and trees.
Burrowing owls make a tremulous chuckling or chattering call. They also bob their heads to express excitement or distress.
Burrowing owls often nest in loose colonies about 100 yards apart.
During the nesting season, burrowing owls will collect a wide variety
of materials to line their nest, some of which are left around the
entrance to the burrow. The most common material is mammal dung, usually
from cattle. At one time it was incorrectly thought that the dung
helped to mask the scent of the juvenile owls, but researchers now
believe the dung helps to control the microclimate inside the burrow and
to attract insects, which the owls may eat.
Did You Know?
When alarmed, young birds will make a hissing call that sounds like a rattlesnake.
