Ned and Nellie are a pair of barred owls that have lived in the Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte, NC. since 2009. I chronicle their escapades to raise awareness of these beautiful raptors.
One of the many things that go on behind the scenes at the raptor center is rehabilitation. Most of these babies fell and went boom. They are hanging with Ned who is teaching them owl things like hooting and clucking and puffing up when self-esteem is low. he is an experienced father and they look up to him. As of Wednesday, he has not attempted to fly but there is plenty of time. Live mice are scurrying around to tempt him plus he may be sore.
You can also visit my YouTube channel for owl videos. Www.youtube.com/user/marsha1208
If you would like to be on the Hooter list to hear updates on Ned and Nellie or owls in general, send me an email through this blog or directly to marshagaspari53@gmail.com
Ned is on the left, a baby in the middle and another adult on the right. When you see the parliament of owls, it's easy to see the differences.
For the last 4 nights, our owl family starts their evening ritual behind the tennis courts at edgehill park. A male makes his call several times but Nellie ain't got time for that since she is feeding babies. Hope for Ned. Mom hops around on the ground, finds food, then feeds the babies. They spend their time flying from branch to branch each trying to outdo the other. Then they try to hunt following mom's lead. It is simply adorable. I assume and hope they will be there tonight. I'll be there with flashlight and hooter (that would be a calling device) and beverage. Feel free to join in. Barred owls are so called because their feathers have bars across them. Ornithologists are not terribly creative.
Buckle up! It's going to be a long bumpy ride...
Ned Update I went to see Ned Friday. Ned has been in the hospital for 20 days so far. His break was severe and by the time it heals and he finishes rehab we hope to have him back here by August. You can check on his progress by going to this link Ned is #18749
Ned came in at 667 grams so has gained 76 grams. Wrapping them and making it dark comforts them.
This is where Ned hangs out. Next to him are the 3 orphans that he is Baby Daddy to
This is drunk Ned. They have to put him to sleep to get x-rays, clean the wound, and do physical therapy.
HIs pin. NOLO means no leftovers ROM range of motion BAR bright, alert, reactive
So far, his hospital care comes to $1609. Obama is not paying for this. So far, Terry Loeb, Holley Hamilton, J'Nell Bryson, Ann Tompkins, and me have contributed.If you enjoy reading about Ned and Nellie, please support the raptor center and when you give, say that it goes to Ned.
Ned is helping the Raptor Center by being a baby daddy to 3 baby owls who fell out of trees and went boom and broke appendages. How cool is that?! Ned is talking to them and they are hearing his wise words. The only good vole is a dead vole. Crows and blackbirds are asshats. Never eat poisoned prey. Outlaw Owls Once the babies are self-sufficient (around July), they are supposed to go find their own territory. Over the last year, we have often seen and heard 3-4 owls. I call them the marauding or Outlaw owls. This band showed up Wednesday night and we had 6 owls in our front yard. It was delightful. The babies were just flying around saying "look at me!" while Nellie was keeping an eye on them while making sure the outlaw owls kept their distance. FAQ: Will Ned be released back to us? Yes, he will. We will do a neighborhood party to welcome him back. Will Nellie take him back? We hope so. Owls mate for life but when one is "gone" they get replaced rather quickly. Dr. Rob said he has seen it happen in 3 weeks and he has seen it happen while the male was still alive (though owl divorce is rare). Ned has been here since at least 2009, so he will likely come claim his territory with a vengeance. And since Nellie is a single mom raising twins, most male owls would pass her by as she is not in the mood to be carrying on with mouths to feed and crows to fend off. What about those crows? They are assholes. With both parents, one searches for food while the other looks after the babies. With only mom, crows and black birds get off on pestering Nellie. They do it because owls are predators and will go after their babies. One watcher told me that the crows got after one of the babies while she was on the ground trying to hunt and mom had to rush in. It is no surprise that a group of crows is called a murder of crows while a group of owls is called a parliament of owls. Can they hunt for themselves? No. They are still getting the flying thing down. They are able to hunt on the ground but it makes them vulnerable so Nellie gets food and takes it to them when they are in the trees. I am not allowed to give them mice more than once a week for fear they will get conditioned to free food and not hunt. I have however, thrown out a bunch of sunflower chips along Edgehill Park that hopefully will attract mice and birds for Nellie to grab. How do I find them? The last 3 nights they have been at Edgehill and like in years past, they will likely stay there at least 2 more weeks. It is the perfect hunting ground with the creek and plenty of space to swoop. Listen for their cries which sound like screeches (they do that because they are hungry and to let other birds know this is their territory) and listen for the crows, blackbirds, and cardinals pitching a fit. Dusk and dawn are best but they can be out during the day because there is only one parent finding food. What's with the head bob thing? Owls see in 3-D and because they have young eyes that are too big for the socket, they have to move their heads to see much like Stevie Wonder. click here to see owl head bob If you hold your arm straight out and put your index finger up then close one eye then the other, you see a different perspective. That is what the head move is about.
That's all for now. Drive slow around Edgehill. My cell is 704-451-2406. Feel free to call or text if you see something I should know about.
Little background---In 2009, Rob Bierregaard (professor who did barred owl research at UNCC) named our neighborhood barred owl pair Ned (went with Nellie) and Nellie (she was nervous). In 2011, he captured Ned, took him to our kitchen, banded him and put on a transmitter to keep track of his whereabouts. click on this link to see those photos.
Every Sunday night, we would whistle for Ned and have a mouse on a platform that he would grab. After about 6 months, Ned stopped coming around. Our neighbor Walker and I would take the antenna and try to find Ned but got nothing. That meant that either Ned had been hit by a car or that the battery was dead. We were sad. In the owl world, if one mate dies, he/she is quickly replaced.
Four years later...Monday, Jennifer King who lives on Edgehill, calls me to say there is an owl in her back yard not moving.
I see that he is banded and hurt. He is not moving. Flies are crawling on him. I see no respiration. I step towards him and he acts startled. I call the raptor center and they said bring him in. I forget that I am trained to transport owls. I get my gloves,put a towel over his head to calm him and put him in a box. I text Rob the band number and he says it's Ned!!! At the raptor center, they evaluate him by first giving him pain medication, then x-rays, then develop a plan. See their tumblr blog at May 11.
He has a bad shoulder break and an eye injury likely caused by a car or hitting a brick wall while hunting and being chased by a dog. He had surgery today and did well. below is a link where you can follow his progress and donate to his care. The Raptor Center does amazing work.
I check on the owls most every night. Last night I saw two babies when we only thought there was one. So now mom is a single mom raising twins. For locals, they are still at Granville and Hermitage. Tonight they were at the Cutter house. Some new friends brought a bird that had fallen out of the nest that was not going to recover. They left it on the ground for Nellie and she took it! I know but it is the circle of life. [Note that owls see movement. They won't eat any roadkill because they can't see it so don't be throwing dead animals in people's yards.]
One owlet is 2 days old and the other is 5 days. Those sounds!!! This is the guy you want to follow. He has an elaborate set up and is about a month ahead of us. Two nights ago we heard 4 owls on the middle of Moravian. I went outside with my flashlight and was able to see them go down to Hermitage. I still have hope that someone will nest in the box in the event that Nellie is gone. We obviously have 2 competing pairs. As I type this, I hear one in the back yard. Love it.
Many of you will remember Alessondra the great horned owl who nests on a balcony on some high rise in the midwest. The family who lives there is home schooled and the dad is some electronic wizard. Perfect. It looks like triplets again. It can sometimes be a little graphic...
Mom is hooting at Dad to bring some scrumptious squirrels.
For the next two months, you should be hearing a lot of hooting and cajoling from the owls. This is the courting season. The mister finds a home but the missus has to approve. As part of this courting ritual, the male feeds the female in an attempt to validate himself as a worthy suitor. Since owls mate for life, she already knows what is in store for her, but at least they make the effort to keep the romance alive. Human males should take note...
There is a guy who lives in Florida who is onviously retired. They are about a month ahead of us and he has the most elaborate camera system I have ever seen. Academics should be jealous. Below is the list of his many sites and this one came from YouTube under the name Paul Yorke. His facebook page is OwlWatch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZj8kM2pDF4
This is a six minute video which is 5 minutes too long for most but it does give you a feel for how human-like barred owls (the most social of the owls) are. She "tries" on her nest site, adjusts the twigs and leaves, and snuggles in various positions trying to make sure that this nest is just right ala three little pig style. She will be a good mom.
The owls are always around and the juveniles are still here as we hear their hooting and it is incomplete as in "who cooks for..."
We still hear the territory fights and I am not sure if I can ever leave this house without taking the owls with me...
Late December through February starts the mating season where the male feeds the female and gets rewarded for his efforts. It is the male that does the house hunting and then the Mrs. has to approve. Since our owls have not used the box in 2 years, we are considering moving it to the back yard to see if that will entice them. If we do that, then I will start feeding them mice again to further convince them that this box is the place to be.
For those of you in the 'hood, we see and hear the owls but do not know where the nest is. They should be very active at this point as they should have babies to feed so they are doing the 24/7 thing. The best way to find them now is to listen for the cry of the owlets which sound like squirrels crying as in a high pitched, insolent "waaaah." If any of you locals see or hear the babies, please let me know as I am curious to know where the heck they are and why they have forsaken me. Asses.
Not be dismayed, here is the link to the Cornell site which has barred owl triplets who are adorable.
For those of you in the neighborhood, I'm sure you have heard a whole lot of hooting going on. From December through early February, it is courting season. It is the male's job to find food and feed the female proving that he is a worthy suitor and good husband material. The hooting is usually indicative of "I'm here, where are you, you old fool. Bring me some dinner." There have been three different times when we have heard and seen two pairs of owls so it will be fun to see how that pans out since owls are territorial. We are hopeful that one of the pair will use the nesting box. We have kept the squirrels out which is sometimes a daily job. Squirrels are very slow learners.
If it doesn't work out with us, there is a guy in Florida who has an incredible three camera set up and he is posting. On Facebook, he is under "OwlWatch." He will post there the more exciting things that happen.His webcam is at http://owlguyz.blogspot.com/. He rotates between inside and outside views. It is very cool and I am very jealous. She is sitting on the nest now (Florida does things earlier). His YouTube Channel is Paul Yorke and lastly his blog is excellent with a lot of detail. http://owlguyy.blogspot.com/
Another very interesting webcam I found is at http://www.ustream.tv/okcowlcam. This is a great horned owl sitting on 3 eggs. She has used a planter on the balcony of a high rise condominium. Crazy. The planter is a little small for her so often her wing is outside the box. This will be quite a show when the owlets are born.
We will keep hoping and keep mice handy in order to feed the owls to encourage them to house with us.
The last 3 nights around midnight you may have heard
the owl hootenanny going on at our house. It has been a cacophony of
monkey hoots and back and forth "who cooks for you." Barred owls are
the most social of all the owls and when they communicate, it is usually
just to say "I'm here, where are you" or when they are courting you can
add "and when you are bringing my dinner? I need to be wooed. This
stuff ain't free." But lately, this has been territory hooting because
we have 2 pairs of owls who don't like it when the other invades each
other's space. They really just fly around from branch to branch
hooting at each other and giving each other the stink owl eye. I love
living here so be able to witness this. Here are two awesome videos of
the sounds and what the owls look like when they hoot.
Our
owls are still around and hooting. The last two nights, they have
started their hootfest in the large pin oak tree in our front yard. The
younger ones seem to have more fun just hooting back and forth and
flying short distances from tree to tree. Sort of like "Watch me. See
what I can do." "You ain't nothing. Watch this."
A
reminder to be careful using pesticides. Owls eat caterpillars
(typically the moth caterpillars which are huge) and birds eat
caterpillars so anything sprayed with pesticides is poisonous to them as
well.
Several fun things have been happening in Barred Owl Land. The parents and their triplets are still around Edgehill Park. The triplets will likely be for another month before they go find their own territory. If you take a stroll around the park around dusk, you can understand why it's such a perfect place for owls. Robins tend to be one of the last ones to call it a night so they still lounge around in the grass looking for worms. As they look down, they are unaware that an owl is above them is about to make a meal of them. Adult owls tend to be higher in the trees since their vision is more developed while the juveniles tend to be lower as their vision and timing skills are still developing. Mice and voles scurry about and try to avoid the talons. Rabbits are the easiest prey (which I hate) but their defense is being "scared stiff." Owls can only see prey if the prey is moving. When a rabbit is scared and is afraid to move, they are very safe from the owls.There are lots of bats around but because of their sporadic and spastic flight patterns, they are very challenging for owls to catch. When the creek is full, there are crayfish, frogs, and small fish to eat.
I saw one of the triplets on a low hanging branch and happened to have my owl call with me so I hooted the barred owl call and a sibling came right away. It was very cool so I tried it again and the owl who came looked at me and realized it was that lady who stares at us all the time and not my real feathered mom and took off.
I hadn't hear the owl in the back yard for about a month and when I did, I grabbed a mouse to put on the platform and Nellie (I think) grabbed it right away and savored it for about an hour. The Gaines' came by and I brought them to the back yard to see Nellie (just so you don't think I make this stuff up) and then two baby owls came. I got another mouse. One made a fly by and missed but the second time grabbed it. I felt bad for the other owl but I was out of mice. So amazing.
The best way to see owls is to listen for the mobbing calls of song birds or the cawing of crows. This often happens during the day when owls are trying to sleep. They pick a quiet spot under cover of leaves and hope that no one notices them. Owls really don't seem to care that they get picked on. Either the offending birds give up or they owl just finds another spot. The owl can't really attack in this situation because the smaller birds are better at maneuvering small places and the owl needs space to fly that 4-foot wing span and land the talons.
Our daughter was home and for exercise, ran around Edgehill Park every night around 10 o'clock. Each time, the baby owl would follow her. One time the owl landed on a street sign so Sarah decided to see how close she could get. She got within six feet then touched the sign. At that point, the baby fly off and Mama Owl started hooting and flew near. I did a little research on www.owlpages.com and found out that baby owls are learning to be territorial and Sarah was in his territory which he was defending. It's the usual reason that owls attack. They can do harm. Someone told me of a woman in Dilworth who got a concussion from an owl attack in Latta Park. The other reason he may have been attracted to Sarah was her pony tail and earbud strings. The bouncing ponytail certainly looks like a bird to be had and the earbud cords resemble a snake. Below is a video link to two juvenile barred owls attacking a garden hose which they think is a snake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGP7KqAFv0A
This is a wonderful video of a mom and dad barred owl and their fledgling. You can see how the baby does the head bob thing as they try and focus and see how the owls use their diaphragms to make their hoot.
I wanted to move to a better spot so
I could blend in.
The crows and blackbirds have been merciless in their hounding on the baby barreds who could care less. They know they are bad and stand their ground. We hear mom and dad nearby but they do not interfere. The photo below was taken in a back yard. Usually, it is the crows that harass the owls, but this time it was a cacophony of song birds-cardinals, thrashers, mockingbirds, even chickadees all tweeting at this owl to vamoose. If you look closely, the foot on the left has the middle talon raised...
So cool that we can walk 20 yards and find 3 baby barred owls
playing in the park. This is the third night in a row that they have been at the east end of the park and if it was like last year, they will be hanging around for the next month or so. Barred owls usually have a cache of 1 to 3 eggs and this is the second time since we have known about the owls that Nellie had triplets. We assume it is Nellie but honestly, with so many owls that have encroached on her territory, it's hard to know. There appears to be another pair that dominate Hermitage Court. They appear to fight a lot and then make up so there is a lot of monkey hooting going on and cigarette butts litter the street.
Our owls (who appear to be Nellie and a new mate) tend to hang out in Edgehill Park. The new male has an abbreviated hoot. We can only guess that he has something else going in his favor.
To find the owls (best time is dusk), listen for the crows to make a ruckus or the cardinals or you can listen for the babies crying or the parents hooting back and forth-It's your turn to feed them. That last mouse was big enough for two turns, it's your turn.
Having watched them in the box, owls do have distinctive personalities. Two of these babies are bad asses. They each went deliberately into a tree which was filled with cardinals aggressively tweeting (literally as it should mean) at them. They held their ground until they had had enough then moved on.
I think from now on, I will just say what I observe and not speculate. As Atticus Finch says, "Delete the adjectives and you'll have the truth."
This afternoon, I heard crows over in Edgehill Park and was tired of weeding and love distraction, so I strolled over to check it out knowing that an owl was nearby. I saw both mom and a baby who had just escaped the crows. Mom was preening herself and also her baby. Adorable. I then heard a ruckus above my head and glanced up to see another baby owl with a snake in its mouth flying away from two pestering crows.
Look for them around Edgehill for the next month or so as they learn to be proficient in flying and hunting. Listen for crows or for the babies crying for food.
A few nights ago, we heard another owl territorial hootfest with at least 3 or 4 different owls. I've had neighbors tell me about seeing owls on Hermitage Court and Dartmouth Place. There would appear to be at least two pair hanging around this area. Not sure if the owl with the babies is Nellie but it would seem so. Maybe she nested near the Duke Mansion this time. So much for not speculating...
I do have more photos which I will post later after I pay a little more attention to real life.
If they get hot, their feathers fluff out a little.
Can you find Nellie?
If I close my eyes, you can't see me.
Nellie is waiting for another mouse.
Good to the last tail.
I am watching you.
Posterize filter
HD filter
Last week, I heard Nellie and her new mate hooting back and forth so I set up the camera, set up the mouse on the platform and called Nellie with Rob's whistle. She came very quickly and I'm not sure if she saw the mouse or heard the whistle. I still cannot verify that is it Nellie as her fur is still covering up the band but I don't think too many owls are this tame and put up with me being so close and taking photographs. She stayed in the back yard for well over an hour. Part of the time staring at the platform and waiting for another mouse. The rest of the time she sat in the trees watching every movement and deciding whether it was prey she could catch. We heard what we assume is her new mate last night around 11 and he has the strangest hoot. He does the call but fizzles out at the end. It's almost comical because it;s like, "Hoo-hoo-HOO-oooooooo yeah, whatever.
We still notice that Nellie is eating the mouse herself so we assume their are no babies. None have been reported and by now, you would hear them crying and see them learning to fly and hunt in Edgehill Park.
In a county park in south Charlotte, there lives a great horned owl family. These photos were all taken in April and both babies have since left the nest. Eurasian eagle owls are the largest owls but great horned owls are second largest owls and are the only animal predators to barred owls. Their wing span is about 5 feet (versus 4 for barred owls) and they are known as the bad ass owls and can be very aggressive. It really is amazing that we have these creatures living in our area. Enjoy the photos.
Copyright Marsha Gaspari
Monday morning at 6:00 a.m. we heard two owls calling back and forth in our back yard. One flew off. They got back together in the vacant lot next door, continuing the discussion, then one took off again. The last place they went was to Edgehill Park where they sat across from each other. Nellie was giving this new mate quite a talking to (their throats puff out then they vocalize). I believe she was saying if you want a piece of this fine specimen, you need to be catching me some rodent. He then went off again in search of prey. This lasted about an hour.
Last night we were privileged to hear and see a parliament of owls (which is what a group of owls is called-we seek to educate) fighting for this territory-further evidence that Ned is gone and Nellie is seeking a new mate and seeing if he would defend her honor. It was around 12:30 a.m. when we heard two pairs of owls caterwauling. This is when they do the monkey hooting thing to the next extreme. Hopefully you can open the attached sound file. This went on for an hour. They went from the vacant lot, to our house, to Edgehill, then down to Squirrel Park. Then they came back to our house. This audio was recorded in our front yard with one pair in the deodora cedar and the other in the pin oak tree.
One of the coolest things about barred owls is that they are the most vocal and social (or in this case anti-social because this 'hood is not big enough for two pairs of owls) of all the owls. They are extremely territorial and as you can hear, both the male and female defend their space.
If you go to www.youtube.com and search for "paulyorke" he has this incredible camera set up for barred owls nesting which features a camera outside and inside. This clip features mom feeding the babies as well as giving them kisses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Wg_rNUOyE
Below is a recording of the fight in owl town last night.
This is why I'm so mad that the owls did not nest in the box. Hopefully, next year although I do still check the box just in case they get a very late start.
Ned is on the left, a baby in the middle and another adult on the right. When you see the parliament of owls, it's easy to see the differences.
