May 14, 2012

Meet Ginger ~ Our Beautiful Red Owl!


The owlets have gotten big enough for Mama, (Ginger), to leave the box.  I've seen her perched at the entrance a couple days in a row for short periods of time.  She sits and makes the softest little sounds; almost like a soft bleating or cooing.  At times she sounds like a kitten. Today, while I watched from a window, she took off to roost in a nearby shrub so I set out with camera in hand to find her.  Isn't she beautiful!?!  No sign of the owlets yet but I'm hopeful it won't be long.

I'm feeling so blessed to have these owls nest in our yard.  This has been such an amazing experience!  Thank you DJ for such an awesome Christmas present!  It's the gift that just keeps on giving :)



19 comments:

  1. I have got to get one of those.

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  2. I forgot to ask: have you noticed a decline in the lizard population in your garden yet?

    If so, that might be a tough call for me to make: owls or lizards.

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  3. Alan, I still see plenty of lizards and I hear toads so I think there is still a healthy population of both. I haven't seen many fish in my stock tank pond though. There were dozens of baby mosquito fish and they seem to have disappeared. Not sure where they got off to.

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  4. That is a handsome owl! Very ginger colored indeed. How fascinating to watch her up close.

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  5. How fun! And Ginger is, indeed quite a looker! Enjoy!

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  6. Do they really eat the lizards. Oh, I might not like that. Rats and mice are OK but I love my lizards and there are so many this year. Ginger is a little beauty and clearly like shaving her photograph taken.

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  7. What a beautiful owl! You are indeed blessed. Laura

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  8. What a wonderful garden friend you have there! I hope you (and we) get to see the Owlets soon ...

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  9. How much fun to have an owl house! I can't wait to see the little ones. Mom is gorgeous.

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  10. Cat, Ginger and her family are beautiful and such a wonderful blessing indeed!

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  11. She is gorgeous! Your posts on these owls has inspired me to put up an owl box. Can't wait to see the owlets!

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  12. You are blessed...what a wonderful experience. And I really appreciate you sharing it with us. Ginger is a stunner!

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  13. What a gorgeous Mama owl! We have a little owl that likes to come hang around the back yard, get us all excited and then disappear for days to weeks on end while we listen every evening for hooting to assure us we are still in Owl Approved territory.

    I had vague worries about putting up a house for owls but clearly - the owls are around whether or not I provide designated housing. Your photos may provide the inspiration to get that house up at long last.

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  14. How exciting!!!! Great shot- looks like she is posing for you.

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  15. Isn't it so nice of her to sit still and let you 'shoot' her.

    We had a large pond in our old garden. We had goldfish that were nine or ten inches long...seven years old. Came home one day to find a Blue Heron standing in the pond, having a nice dinner...grrrr...We were close to a lake, too.

    You also might have raccoons. We're fighting them over the birdfeeders. But, they'll go for a fish dinner, too.

    Sorry your fish are missing, wherever they went.

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  16. Cat -
    1. lovely pictures, I like the red morph owls so much.

    2. You should talk to Bob about his mom's problems with the raccoons and their pond - the raccoon managed to turn one of their water aerators away from the pond thus pumping all the water out so he could get to the fish.

    3. Did you read The Backyard Birder's article on Friday about how species with distinct color variants are more likely to become completely separate species? Interesting read.

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  17. How did I miss this???!!!! I love owls....oh my goodness....a Red Owl. I've never heard of this kind of owl before......love love love!!! You are very lucky to have such a wonderful friend in the garden:)

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  18. Love her! She's beautiful! Reminds me of a latch hook that I did as a kid. LOL!

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  19. How fun for you. Doesn't she get protective? Everytime I come close to one of my plants with a nest, the mother swoops near my head.

    Can't wait to see the owlets too.

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