747 March 9, 2022 Great Horned Owls

Before my walk this morning, I went to look for the nesting female great horned owl.  I could only catch a glimpse of her eyes and horns. 

She is sitting in a honey mesquite tree.  At the point where the elbow just out to the right, a bowl of sorts has formed in the junction of the branches and here she sits. Soft downy feathers coat the inside of the nest.

Several days ago, she pushed a “bad” egg out of the nest.  Yesterday, it was still up in the tree but today, we found it in the grass.  It was a creamy color and about the same size as a chicken egg.  This pair of owls has been nesting in this campground for years. 

Great horned owls eat rodents and also birds including pigeons and ducks and geese.  One woman has been staying here every winter for the past 26 years.  She told a story of a picture that she took of the nesting owls many years ago.  She used her cell phone.  She could see that there was something white laying in the tree outside the nest.  She put the picture on her computer in order to enlarge it and saw that the owls had killed a cat.  These owls are 18-24 inches tall and have a wingspan of 4-5 feet. 

Tim captured this picture.

I saw a brilliant vermillion flycatcher.

I also saw a coyote walking in a hayfield but he was very far away.

Tim did his stretching here and then went back to the gym.

We did a couple of errands.  We have been getting purified water in a 5-gallon jug for our drinking water.  The water here in the desert comes from desalination plants…water harvested from the ocean and made drinkable.  This tap water contains salt and so we go to water stations to fill.  We found a Mexican food market and got a couple of new things to try.

We both took bike rides and enjoyed a quiet and pleasant afternoon.  The day was warm and sunny and it was nice to have the windows open. We could occasionaly hear the hooting of the owls.

This evening we went to town to try Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant.  It was a very busy place.  We had delicious food!