Tag-Archive for ◊ Bird ◊

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Camera #1 – Live Bald Eagle Nest Cam, Santa Catalina Island, Ca
Live Videos by Ustream

Camera #2 – West End Bald Eagle nest on Santa Catalina Island, California. What a view!
Live video by Ustream

Live Eagle Nest Duke Farms, Hillsborough NJ
Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Lately, I have gotten involved in the world of watching birds through the amazing work and efforts of people installing video cams in various locations allowing me, and many others to drop by and watch the amazing action of Mother Nature in progress. From the building of a nest, or moving into a prefabricated owl house, to mating, and getting the “dwellings” ready to welcome the family, right through to the hatching of the eggs and watching the growth of the little ones …. It has been a really enjoyable experience.

It is truly amazing to see the amount of people who sit in front of their computers watching these birds, especially the viewers of Molly the Barn Owl (my previous post). I work at home online and keep a window running in the background so I can keep up to date on the latest happenings.

I must admit I recently starting watching the Eagles on Santa Catalina Island, CA. I love to see and hear the ocean in the background. The two baby eaglets have hatched and mom and dad are doing an awesome job! The eagles are great as both mom and dad contribute to the work of the little ones. The dad, #81, Justice flies off to bring back fish. Nothing like fresh Sushi! Mom, #82, Liberty welcomes the food and they both feed the babies. (The eagles have identifying numbers on their wings. Liberty is marked on both sides – #82) Justice even takes turns sitting on the nest and keeping the babies warm. I love to listen to them calling to each other when one is off on a flight.

Then there is another bald eagle nest at Duke’s Farm in Hillsborough, NJ. This is a totally different atmosphere from Santa Catalina, CA. These are fun to watch. This is quite an elaborate nest. Today, as I am writing this post, it is a tad bit windy and the nest is swaying.

There are many other animal web cams you can watch on http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com. You will find anything from Bald Eagles, to Molly the World Famous Barn Owl, a new Cardinal nest, to a very comical Grey Squirrel and African animals. This is a great site.

This is truly a great experience for adults, adults that are house bound or bed ridden, and children to see these activities first hand. Although Molly eating her tantalizing meals of mice, rats and rabbits can sometimes make me a little nauseous, this is truly a great education.

With regard to education, Carlos Royal the owner of Molly’s Owl House, is a very gifted speaker and comes on often with updates. He even has a widespread audience with school classrooms and homeschoolers. He holds an information update and then a question and answer session with these groups. What a blessing Carlos is, and I want to thank him personally for all he does to contribute to broadening our knowledge on barn owls. Molly, McGee(daddy owl) and the four little owlets (Max, Pattison, Austin and Wesley) are very fortunate to have found Carlos’ owl house.

I have included the web cam feed for the Bald Eagles above. I hope that you enjoy watching all of these birds as much as I do.
If you are not already a bird watcher, I think you will become one soon!

Judy Conway

Email: judyconwaymarketing@gmail.com
http://homebusinessinatlanta.com
http://fullservicemarketingtools.com
http://beadazzledjewelrycreations.com
Skype ID: judy.conway

Who Is Molly the World Famous Barn Owl?

Author: Judy Conway

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Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

A few days ago my daughter sent me a link she had come across on a site that was featuring Molly the barn owl who was sitting on five eggs. Carlos and Donna Royal are the owners of the owl house on their property in San Marcos, California.

She is a beautiful owl. Her mate, McGee, hunts nearby fields and bring her food several times a day. Her menu ranges from rodents to rabbits. This has truly been an amazing experience watching her diligently sitting on the eggs and waiting for them to hatch.

People from all over the world (over 20 countries) have found Molly’s world. She is truly a world famous owl. Today I have seen the number of visitors go over 13,000 to the site. At one point there were so many visitors that Carlos had problems with the web cam.

Here is a description of facts about the barn owl.

They range in size from 13 to 20inches
They weigh 8 to 21 ounces
They have a wingspan of about 3-1/2 feet
They do not migrate
Their habitat is in farmlands, marshes, prairie, and desert locations
Barn owls have the sharpest sense of hearing of any bird in the world

In appearance, the barn own differs from other owls and is characterized by its heart-shaped face and small black eyes. The round shape of their faces amplifies sounds, while its silent flight helps to keep the background noise to a minimum allowing their ears to search out their prey. It has been documented that the owl’s ears are not symmetrical on the head. The left side is higher on the skull than the right. This makes the sound traveling from above or below to arrive at one ear before the other, which allows the owl to know which direction the sound is coming from. The Barn Owl has three-dimensional hearing. With its keen sense of hearing, the barn owl can catch food in total darkness.

Although its name, “barn owl” denotes that it lives in barns, this owl can also be found residing in churches, natural sites, such as caves and tree holes and other buildings.

Owls eat their food whole. They do not have teeth and cannot chew their food. They rip their prey apart and they swallow large chunks whole. This food goes from their mouth to their gizzard. The gizzard uses sand particles, gravel and digestive fluids to grind and dissolve parts of the food that can be digested. After the various parts of the food has been broken down by the owl’s gizzard and intestines, the teeth, claws, bones, fur and other indigestible parts of the owl’s prey are compacted in the owl’s gizzard into a neat mass which is better known as an owl pellet. Baby owl’s do not produce owl pellets until they begin eating their prey whole.

An owl pellet is usually formed after a few hours of eating. This pellet will remain in the body for several hours. The pellet is stored in the proventriculus part of the owl’s body for up to 20 hours. The owl will not be able to eat again until this pellet is disgorged as it blocks the entrance to the digestive system.

Molly at one point was regurgitating an owl pellet. It appeared that she was coughing or choking. The actual process is when the esophagus spasms forcing the owl pellet out. The owl pellet is soft at this point and does not cause the owl any pain. This regurgitation process can take anywhere from a few seconds to two or three minutes.

The barn owl does not build a traditional nest. The female lays 4 to 7 eggs right on the floor, usually among old owl pellets. The eggs will hatch after about 30 days. Molly has been a diligent mother sitting on her eggs. She gets up from time to time to stretch her legs and eat whatever prey McGee has brought to her. Carlos comes on throughout the day and evening giving viewers updates on Molly. He mentioned at one point that he has seen Molly leave the owl house once or twice after dark.

The owlets fledge 7 to 10 weeks after hatching but do not usually leave the area until the are 3 to 5 months old.

The breeding pair may lay a second clutch of eggs after the young leave the area. A barn owl is capable of reproduction at less than a year of age.

Recent studies have shown that males prefer to breed with females with plenty of spots on their thighs. This is a unique feature that indicates a bird’s good health!

I am looking forward to the hatching of the remaining 4 eggs and the development of the owlets. It has been a real joy being allowed to have a “bird’s eye view” of this process. Carlos and Donna are wonderful for putting in all the effort and expense that they have so we can enjoy seeing Mother Nature and God’s creatures in action. If you would like to check in on Molly and her family of owlets please check out http://eCa.sh/KQyk. I hope you will enjoy this as much as my family, friends and I have.

Judy Conway
judyconwaymarketing@gmail.com
http://homebusinessinatlanta.com
http://fullservicemarketingtools.com Skype ID: judy.conway

Category: Children, family, home, Mother Nature, Uncategorized | Tags: Barn Owl, Bird, CA, Flora and Fauna, Judy Conway, Max, Mother Nature, owlets, San Marcos | 2 Comments