FRIENDS OF LATODAMI ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION CENTER

Owl Updates From 2005

Latodami Owls

Oct 1

We have received telemetry information on the Barn Owl positions. See our map of the Barn Owl locations .

Sept. 30

There were no Barn Owls up in the rafters this morning (9:00am). The owls did not return overnight.

Sept. 29

This morning there were two Barn Owls up in the rafters. The screen on the window on the left side of the Owl Barn has been removed to allow the owls another way to exit. The owls are still being fed.

At 7:40pm a ghost of an image flew towards the window on the left side of the barn. At 7:57pm a Barn Owl was observed on the ledge of the open window. At 7:59pm the owl flew away.

At 9:00pm it was confirmed that all the Barn Owls have left the Owl Barn. The OwlCams will remain on until morning.

Sept. 28

On Wednesday morning there were still two Barn Owls.

Sept. 27

And then there were only two

Sept. 26

Saw three of the four Barn Owls this morning in the rafters (9:25AM).The Owl Barn provides the owls with shelter from the wind and precipitation and seems to be a good place to hang out on this rainy Monday.

Definitely still here.

Sept. 25

The Barn Owls were given access to an exit today. But it may be a little while before they leave.

A view of Freedom. Barn Owl sitting on top of owl box.

Sept. 24

Sept. 23

A dull and dreary day.

Found the camera again. Oops.

Sept. 22

It’s amazing how small the Barn Owls look in the feeding pit. This is partly due to perspective distortion caused by the camera. The Barn Owl is actually a medium-sized owl with a body length of 13–20 inches (with females being larger than the males). The males weigh around 14-19 ounces and the females 17-25 ounces.

Sept. 21

Occasionally you may get a glimpse of an antenna on the back of the Barn Owls. Each of our Barn Owls has been instrumented with a satellite telemetry transmitter by means of a criss-cross design ribbon harness coated with Teflon. The transmitters were activated on Monday, Sept 19 and will be remain active for approximately 9 months. After the Barn Owls are released, these transmitters will provide information about the Barn Owl’s movements, habitat selection and life expectancy. Another conservation tool that the Barn Owls are wearing is a small metal leg ring. This ring allows for the identification of the individual Barn Owl and can also aid in the tracking of the owl and in the collection of information.

Sept. 20

A different view.

The Barn Owls are not upside down. They have the ability to rotate their heads up to 270 degrees.

Found the camera

Sept. 19

There was a lot of activity up in the rafters this morning (9:45AM). It is interesting to observe the Barn Owl’s behavior and interactions. You will see preening (self maintenance of plumage) and allopreening (preening of each others feathers). Allopreening occurs among siblings, though it is more common in established pairs. You can also see the Barn Owls swaying and bobbing their heads up and down and from side to side. Because the Barn Owls eyes are fixed within their sockets they must move their head to change their line of sight.

Sept. 18

And then there was color.

Attempts at capturing flight. Wingspan of the Barn Owl ranges from 102-120cm (40 to 47 inches or approximately 3.5 to 4 feet)

Sept. 17

Roosting, preening, stretching and flapping of wings.

Sept. 16

Nearly 100 people showed up for the Barn Owl Program. Thank you all for coming.

Sept. 15

Sept. 14

The Barn Owl has a distinguishing white, heart-shaped face rimmed with a brownish edge. You can see why other names for this owl include: “White Owl”, “Ghost Owl”, and “Monkey-faced owl”.

Still not exactly sure what’s happening at the water bowl but all the Barn Owls seem interested in it, and all at the same time..

Sept. 13

Barn Owls roosting in the rafters.

Sept. 12

One Barn Owl uses a perch to sit and observe prey while another Barn Owl takes a different approach and walks around in the feeding pit.

Sept. 11

Do Barn owls drink water? Barn Owls rarely drink as most of their water needs are met from their diet. Barn Owls do occasionally bathe in water. We have seen the owls at Latodami visit the water bowl/shallow tub (in pictures to the right of the large perch). Often the owl is standing in the tub. It is difficult to determine what the owl is doing. We will try moving the tub closer to the webcam for tomorrow evening

Sept. 10

What do Barn Owls eat? Barn Owls feed primarily on small mammals (such as mice, moles, shrews and young rats) and have shown a preference for voles across most of their North American range. A nesting pair is capable of consuming over 1000 rodents per year. Barn owls will also eat birds when small mammals are scarce. Remains of insects, crustaceans, reptiles and amphibians have been found in owl pellets.

Sept. 9

The owls are active at 7:25pm.

And active still at 6:24 am.

Sept. 8

It’s been a week since the Barn Owls arrived. The Barn Owls seem to be adapting well and have been improving their hunting skills. The owls are now consuming all of the food that is offered to them

Sept. 7

Barn Owls in the wild hunt for food usually within a few hours after sunset and again within a few hours before sunrise. You can see the Barn Owls at Latodami start to become more active around sunset. On Sept.7, 2005 the sunset in Pittsburgh was at 7:42pm. This picture was taken at 7:45pm. You can see the silhouette of a Barn Owl on top of the owl box on the right window. There is also a vague image of a Barn Owl on the post between the two windows.

Sept. 6

The Barn Owls were less active earlier this evening. Would generally only see one of them at a time at the feeding pit, but these two showed up at 3:16am.

Sept. 5

The Barn Owls were about 90 days old when they arrived at Latodami. While young Barn Owls learn to hunt by instinct it also involves practice. Collectively the owls are given 4 dead mice each night and have ten live mice available to them in the feeding pit. Locating and eating a dead mouse is not a problem (as seen in the first two photos below), but catching a live mouse is proving more difficult. Before the night is over the owls will have flown in and out of the feeding pit several times. In the third photo there are two owls standing in the feeding pit containing the live mice, but both owls will fly out of the pit without taking a mouse.

Sept. 4

The owls are more active than expected. Today, the OwlCam was aimed at the rafters. The owls showed varying degrees of movement throughout the day, (although they mostly stayed in the upper rafters). Later, as evening approached and the OwlCam was aimed lower, the owls were observed around the feeding pit, sometimes alone and sometimes not. The owls were also observed on the ground at the water dish and on the large perch. At 2:30am the owls remain active. The large perch is being visited often, occasionally with more than one owl occupying it at the same time. At 3:05am (bottom right photo below) all four owls are around the feeding pit. At 3:07am there are three owls on the large perch.

One owl, two owls, three owls, four

Sept. 3, Night

Saw a lot of owl activity on the webcam starting at 10:25pm when an owl came into view on the lower wood beam. At 10:34 it disappeared back into the rafters. At 10:35pm there was another appearance by an owl on the beam. This owl then flew off and landed on the back perch of the feeding pit. It then moved onto the corner of the ledge. The owl was facing away from the pit and was activity looking around before it flew off. At 10:45pm an owl again appeared on the middle perch facing outwards from the pit. It stayed for only a few minutes and then flew off.

At 11:13pm an owl appeared on the lower beam and remained there for quite some time. It was still there at 11:22pm when another owl flew down to the back perch of the feeding pit. He looked into the pit for a while then flew up to the lower beam. At 11:23PM there was an owl on each side of the lower beam. A third owl then flew and landed on a perch of the feeding pit, facing away from the pit at first. The owl then turned around and was actively looking around. At 11:26pm this third owl flew up and landed on the lower beam beside one of the other owls. All three birds disappeared from view at 11:27pm

At 11:30pm and owl appeared briefly flying on screen and the disappeared.

At 11:31pm an owl landed on the front perch of the feeding pit. It then flew to the middle perch and then from there it jumped into the pit. It flew up to the rafters at 11:33pm.

At 11:43pm an owl appeared for about a minute on the lower beam to the right of the light.

At 11:50pm an owl flew to the feeding pit and landed on the back corner. It then jumped into the pit and stayed in the pit for approximately 4 minutes. It then took off back to the rafters.

At 11:58 there was an owl on the ground (near a water bowl). At 11:59 a second owl joined it on the ground but then flew off. The first owl stayed on the ground until 12:07am. It then flew from the ground to the middle perch of the feeding pit and flew back up to the rafters at 12:08am

Sept. 2, Night

To provide light for our night-vision camera with a minimum of disturbance to the Barn Owls, we have covered the one light with dark red theater gels. The light you see in the webcam is actually more than one observes in the room directly, which remains fairly dark. The following observations were made via the webcam.

At 10:06 pm: observed an owl perched on the board above the light in center of room. The owl seemed to be interested in the feeding pit area. The owl flew off the board at 10:12pm and landed on the back perch of the feeding pit. The owl picked up a dead mouse and then dropped it. The owl picked it up again and looked around with the mouse still in its mouth. The owl then either swallowed the mouse or dropped it to the floor. A second owl was seen in the same area of the board above the light. The first owl flew up to the rafters at 10:19pm. The second owl also disappeared from view.

At 11:28pm: an owl was again observed. The owl dove from the board above the light into the feeding pit. A second owl watched from above in the rafters. The first owl flew out of the feeding pit to the back perch. It then flew into the pit for a second time. The second owl continued to watch. The first owl returned to the back perch then moved to the other side of the perch. It flew off the perch and then returned to the same perch. It then flew up and disappeared into the rafters. The second owl also disappeared into the rafters at 11:34pm.

At 12:12am: an owl appeared once again perched on the board above the light. The feeding pit again seemed to be of interest. At 12:17am the owl stretched its wings but did not fly down to the pit but instead turned and disappeared into the rafters.

Sept. 2, Morning

Saw all four Barn Owls this morning grouped together in the rafters above the back window. They appeared comfortable with their new environment. They hadn’t eaten any of the food left on the ledge of the feeding pit. As Barn Owls are known to be inactive during the day we might not see them until later this evening. As their patterns emerge, we will try and adjust the webcam accordingly.

Sept. 1, Evening

The Barn Owls, two male and two female, arrived at Latodami around 5:00pm on Thursday September 1, 2005. As they were introduced to their new surroundings they seemed unsure. When they slowly exited the safety of their crate, they sought out the corners of the barn looking for a place to hide. At 6:09 pm, one of the owls landed on a perch of the feeding pit and looked around but then flew off again. By 7pm, three of the four owls were up in the rafters and seemed to be adjusting to their new surroundings. The fourth owl remained elusive and couldn’t be seen. It’s possible it sought out cover in one of the owl boxes. Food was placed on the edge of the feeding pit at 5pm and still remained untouched at 7pm. We have been assured that the owls had been well fed in the days before their arrival. Since the owls had not been accustomed to artificial light in their previous home, we decided it best not to light them during their first night here, but the web cam is working. Check back during daylight hours to see the owls.