The Do's and Don't of welcome Wagoning Owls

Now with my heart racing and my mind full of the adventures I would have with my new found Neighbors I trundled off through the snow to study and learn all I could about Great horned Owls. Should have spent more time learning. Now I knew owls ate mice so far so good as I have no shortage of mice and voles around the property and I promptly went about the task of setting traps in the barn ,shed really. By morning I had a goodly supply of mice all with their necks neatly broken, this is a good idea as a pocketful of live mice can be a bit trying to say the least.

Now I was all set had on my aforementioned winter stuff a pocketful of mice that I was sure would please Mrs. Owl to no end. Now all I needed was my snow shoes and my trusty aluminum ladder with which to ascend to their lofty nest.. As I neared the nest my heart was full of joy as I was finally going to meet some of the most beautiful creatures in my neck of the woods. I placed the ladder against the tree and extended it to just below the nest, Mrs. Owl did not fly away and I took this as a good sign, or at least a sign that she had no fear of this strange creature. I was to find out later that she had no reason to be afraid.

I now removed my snow shoes (this was both a good and bad idea) good because one cannot ascend a ladder while wearing snow shoes and bad because one cannot run in neck deep snow without them.More of that later.

Now I was all set and began to climb the ladder slowly so as not to scare Mrs. Owl as I topped the ladder and came face to face with Mrs. Owl she gave me the most bemused look. Now I know Owls really don’t have any voluntary facial muscles, but this was done mostly , no completely with the eye’s as if she simply could not believe what she was seeing . This strange creature at her front nest perch, what could it possibly want? We stared at each other for some minutes not wanting to break the magic spell of the moment, well I didn’t. Then it hit me where in the world were my manners here I had come to visit and had not even offered a gift, well that would be remedied post haste. I removed my gloves (also not a good Idea) and removed one of the mice from my pocket and placed on her nest in front of her, surely this would melt her heart and get me in like Flint. Her look of bemusement turned to one of complete astonishment, surely this was the strangest thing that had ever happened to her a strange creature bearing gifts of mice, or perhaps it was a pyramid scheme or some other scam.

At any rate noting that at least I wasn’t selling soap or cosmetics she eyed the mouse and then she eyed me, back and forth it went, surely this could not be happening surely she would wake up and it would all have been a dream, but no this was to real . I thought that perhaps the first mouse was perhaps not correct in some fashion so I offered her another. Now the look was one of utter disbelieve. Not one but two Mice. Finally she moved her wonderful head forward and nudged the second mouse as if to see if it was indeed real. Now I knew that Great horned Owls have No sense of smell what so ever so it must have been a tacit thing on her part. She then pulled her head back and did nothing, except stare at me, with an occasional glance at the mice. Well I thought was all going fairly well at least she hadn’t told me to bugger off and leave her alone.

However all good things must come to an end and this was no exception. It was at this moment in time that Mr. Owl returned home with a mouse in his beak. I say Beak with a certain amount of writer prerogative, as it should read (Sharp as fucking hell weapon of mass destruction sort of thing) More on this next time on the do’s and don’t of owlery, or whatever it’s called.