I keep hearing an owl in the day

LauraNorder

FannyC you’re a hoot.

Thank you Laura!

Chapter 4:

My mom and dad built the owls, who were called Blodwyn and Dodo, a beautiful landscaped aviary.
And when we moved house about 10 years later, they built another one.
The owls ate frozen rabbit from Sainsbury’s (as in the Chad n Dave classic).
We used to get funny looks in Sainsbury’s due to the copious amounts of rabbit chunks that we bought (‘Making a stew, love?’)
Owls have to make pellets, so we had to save our dogs’ fur to put on the rabbit. (I still remember the willow pattern tin that we saved the fur in!)
Occasionally, the owls would ‘escape’, but they’d just have a little fly around and then come back.
Unfortunately, Dodo died quite young due to a fox.
The owl man gave us another owl called Reg.
They mated, (Blodwyn and Reg, nothing t do with the bloke!) but the eggs never managed to hatch. We took the eggs out and replaced them with fake plastic pigeon eggs, because Blodwyn would squash them.
In fact, Blodwyn was a rather fat owl. Sometimes, she got so fat that she had trouble actually flying (I know!) and she would crawl up the netting of the aviary, like a big moth.
Blodwyn died when she was about 17, and Reg must have lived to about 22, which is a great age for an owl. In fact he may have held a record, but we never looked into anything.

Whenever I hear an owl hoot, it’s the most evocative thing ever. It reminds me of being a little girl, all safe, tucked up in bed. Ohh, I’m welling up ?

That’s a lovely story, Fanny. ❤️ Have you read Corvus by Esther Woolf? It’s not about owls but she got adopted by a baby rook and became ‘the bird woman’.

An acquaintance of mine has a fab owl story. An owl came down their chimney one evening and began flying round their house. They lost sight of it but managed to track it down via the sooty marks on the walls. It had gone upstairs and when they peered into one of the bedrooms the owl was perched on their teenage son’s back, whilst he remained soundly asleep in his bed.

Oh Fanny, that's a lovely story your Mum and Dad sound like special people x

I've been out all day so obviously haven't heard it today

My mug features a wise owl, Orlin’s mug speaks for itself

Laura I can’t make out the creature on Orlin’s mug…
is it a hedgehog; or a type of mustelid?

Good morning (evening in Tassie) Nothing happening here today, fine day but rain forecast for the next couple of days.

Still no news re Rufus hello to EV if she is reading - we haven't forgotten you, and to Marydoll a hello also.

Lovely owl stories - the one with the owl perching on the back of the sleeping teenager just so funny!

Very best wishes to all.

Hello fatgran (I don’t like calling you that!)
There was a lady on here who was a neighbour of EV. I wish that I could remember who it was.

I used to be Tassiegran once Fanny but somehow couldn't log in to gransnet and had to register again. At the time I was feeling fat and crabby and in a fit of pique called myself fatgran and now I'm stuck with it Anyway at the moment I have gained several covid pounds so the name fits again.

Yes I seem to recall one of our friends on here was in touch with EV if she is reading perhaps she can give us an update.

We live surrounded by woods an old railway line now a parkland. It’s not unusual to hear an owl in the day time. It’s sad though just to hear one calling out and no response I always think it’s a lonely owl.

Don’t Redhead, you’ll set me off again ?

Lovely owl stories. I hear owls right outside my bedroom, but usually only in October and November. I didn't realise it was territory wars.

We also get muntjacs, they make weird noises, often mistaken for a fox.

Hello seacliff ?
Muntjacs, now that is special.

We’re lucky to have some hedgehogs living in our garden.
A few days ago a heard a distinct quacking coming from the laurels, and by sheer coincidence read something the same day, that hedgehogs do indeed quack ?

Thank you Fanny, that was a lovely story. Your parents were very special people.

I ate a delicious venison stew made from muntjac once. We were staying in a country house near Oxford.

Blossoming

I knew a tawny owl who lived in a tree on the central reservation of a busy dual carriageway. Strange choice.

Perhaps there was plenty of roadkill around Grandma? Easier than hunting. Fast food, sad though that is.

They shoot and eat the muntjacs here too. The noise they make is like a bark. I don't know if I've shared this on Gransnet but my farm shop sells pigeon sausages and no, I've never tried them.

Grandma70s

I knew a tawny owl who lived in a tree on the central reservation of a busy dual carriageway. Strange choice.

I love that you knew the owl

I went to bed early last night as my neighbours were having a party and I didn't want them to ask me to go round but my husband sat out in the garden until late and said there was one on the chimney calling to another and they were flying backwards and forwards and being noisier than the neighbours so no lonely owls

He also said the neighbour fell over drunk and had to be helped up

We are in our holiday home in Normany and here we have owls nesting in the stone walls of the house. It was built with what I assume was a few pigeon holes above the front door, the pigeons have long gone and been replaced by olws. the downside is that all the owl pellets pile up on the doorstep when we we aren't here.

Some years ago I was here on my own the night the fledglings made their first flights. Their first flight was from the nest to my bedroom window sill and then down to the courtyard wall. It was like helping children to ride without stabilisers or try to swim. Mother owl kept up a constant twitter of advice and encouragement while the owlets kept telling her how well they were doing and to watch them, the racket stopped me sleeping. First, I closed the window (the night was stiffling hot) and finally decamped to another bedroom.

We often hear them calling, and have another pair nesting in some outbuildings.

How lovely Monica
I am now going to have to look up the French for owl…

Chouette (fem) and hibou (masc) ! ♥️

I would love to see or even hear an owl. My claim to bird fame is that we have several huge red kites that circle over our houses on a frequent basis. We also get Heron sometimes, they go after the fish in my neighbours pond. They remind me of the prehistoric birds.... the name escapes me.... when they are flying.