Investigation into owl whodunit
DEAR JOAN: We have a murder mystery in the Cupertino foothills that we are hoping you or your panel of experts can help us solve.
A friend in the area has a barn owl house with Web cameras inside, streaming video of the owl family 24/7. You can see the live video feed at YouTube. com/SVNaturecam.
A worldwide band of owl fans has been watching the family since the eggs were laid starting Super Bowl Sunday and through hatching last month.
Early one recent morning, one of our viewers was watching from Germany and witnessed a great ruckus in the nest. While the mother owl, Willow, was out hunting, a large owl face — too large to fit into the hole — looked in briefly, which got the hungry owlets to cluster near the front, expecting a meal.
Then a taloned foot plunged in and snatched the second-oldest owlet and dragged it away screeching. Owlets and viewers alike were in shock.
Our German viewer, badly shaken at the violence she witnessed, nevertheless has been trying to pin down the identity of the villainous owl. We know there are great horned owls in the area, but our eyewitness is pretty adamant that she did not see one of those.
She said the beak and talons were not black, but tan like the barn owl. She also said she heard screeching from outside the box, not hooting like the great horned owl. Unfortunately, we were not able to save the video of the attack.
We are trying to deduce the identity of the interloper on these scant facts and were wondering what varieties of owls we may have in the area that prey on barn owl nests. Bob Ellingson Bay Area DEAR BOB: We have a few owls in the Bay Area, but based on size and action, the choices are the barred owl and the great horned owl, which match the size but not the coloring.
My money is on the great horned owl as they have a nasty reputation for plucking barn owl babies from nesting boxes. Their talons are black, but when seen from underneath, they appear tawny brown.
I can’t explain the tan beak. Perhaps the witness was so stunned that she is didn’t get a good look at it.
The bloodcurdling screeches probably belonged to the barn owls.
Your friend should make sure his owl box has no perch, either on the box or close to it, that would allow a predator to hold on with one foot and grab with the other.
DEAR JOAN: I live near the Briones open space, and all the usual suspects wander through — deer, raccoons, opossums, skunks and, of course, turkeys.
Last night I looked out and saw a blonde raccoon, or perhaps pale orange or yellow. It was with another normal-colored raccoon, and they were comfortable with each other.
I got a very good look at it, and that was quite a treat. Jerry Martinez
DEAR JERRY: That must have made you consider seeing an eye doctor. Although they are rare, there are blonde raccoons in the world, along with a few redheads. They are genetic flukes, born without the melanin needed to give them typical raccoon coloring.
We shouldn’t confuse them with albino raccoons. True albino animals have pink eyes and noses, so if your blonde bombshell has brown eyes and a nose, then she’s just a blondie.