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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

From the veranda - Dedicated to the Owl

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Great_Horned_Owl_dtl.html#sound I have spent almost two days pondering. I got such concern over the injured owl entry. I thank everyone for their comments. For these two days I’ve been frozen with no words to say. I was unsure whether to say more or to just let the story pass…. Then I decided that being a coward was no way to be. I am not sorry that I wrote about the owl in the blog even though now I must also share the death with you. Yesterday, Camillo and I went over to the veterinarian’s clinic to see the owl. He did not make it. Apparently his right wing was nearly severed up in his shoulder. I don’t know if this is the right terminology or anatomy while talking about a bird, but bottom line, he had internal injuries and refused to eat. The day I wrote my blog entry he was already gone. I am not one for weeping, sitting and crying about what I can’t change - instead I spent several hours on the net yesterday looking for information about owls. The one I took pictures of seems to be a great horned owl and is one of our endangered species. The encroachment of man on their habitat is one of the major causes of threat to them. This question of animal / nature / versus man is too large for me to answer but I think we should at least put some of our energy into respecting the life of all the other animals within OUR habitat. If you are interested in learning more about this beautiful animal here are some links for you to visit to learn the basics. Know about Owls http://www.tooter4kids.com/owls/owl_links.htm http://domains.similarbase.com/owls.html

6 comments:

  1. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of such a beautiful creature. I know how you feel.

    It makes me very angry when people take no concern for the wildlife when they encroach oh their habitat.

    I have read in the news about upscale neighborhoods bringing in sharp shooters to kill the deer because they were eating their plants.

    That is just one instance where wildlife is killed because people only care about their trees or flowers.

    People need to learn how to live with nature.

    Tomorrow, I will look to skies and say a prayer for the owl that I knows soars in heaven.

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  2. I put up 2 sweet suet treets for my birds at our new lovenest to honor your owl Ginger V.
    I hope that you are okay? I'm so happy that you didn't let this story pass untold and that you shared it with us. We mourn with you.
    God Bless you and Camillo and.....

    Steady On
    Reggie Girl

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  3. The damage we might do is not always deliberate like those which you write. Just living in the forest, among the birds which I enjoy watching, and other creatures that I see from time to time threatens them. The road to Lumiar where our house is, is a narrow curving road winding through the forest without any malicious both human and animal can be in a disastrous wrong place at the wrong time. On our shrinking planet this is unavoidable.

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  4. Ginger ---so sorry about the owl.

    Patty, I agree with you. There are so many ways people and deer can live together. There are motion sensors that spray water on deer to keep them from plants. This doesn't hurt the deer but scares them away harmlessly. I read an article where the residents in a new plan got together and bought a truckload of hay bales. They stacked them like bricks, behind their properties to form a barrier several bales deep and high enough so the deer couldn't jump them. The deer ate the hay instead of the garden plants, and everyone was happy. In the fall, the homeowners raked up what was left to use as mulch around their plants.

    Two nights ago, i came as close to hitting a deer in my car as I ever have. We live in a small town in the country and I always drive below the speed limit, but four deer crashed down a small embankment and onto the road so fast I didn't see them until they were in front of me. Luckily, I missed them, but only by inches. I would have been so upset if I hurt or killed one.

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  5. Nature is so much wiser than man - nature keeps animals' numbers under control, whereas we just decimate their numbers. This owl was so beautiful; at least its story has been told... Thankyou for sharing this.

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