Category Archives: Year 10

Fuzz Ball Falls Again, and Again, and Again …

Year 10

At 7:00 this morning I visited Fuzz Ball. I cheered when I realized the young owl was now starting to branch! (chair?). The sooner the little guy gets back up high in a white pine tree the better.  Here is an image from my morning visit.

Later this morning before heading out to an appointment, I visited Fuzz Ball again. I wanted to measure the distance from the owl platform nest I had constructed to a white pine with some branches which is near by. Could I build a “branch” between the two pines?

Fuzz Ball was not in its new nest! I scanned its white pine and the nearby tree. No Fuzz Ball. Oh my word, what had happened? I first feared a predator had caught my little friend, but the parent owls always seem to be watching. After a few minutes I saw Fuzz Ball on the ground about 50 yards distant. I investigated.  The young owl was not injured but was still not able to fly. I wondered if I placed the owlet in the pine with branches would it now be able to climb up high. Here is Fuzz Ball on the ground.

Unfortunately I discovered that not only can Fuzz Ball not yet fly, but the thin branches  on the nearby pine tree were also problematic. I placed the owlet twice directly on a branch, and watched in dismay as it promptly got into trouble and fell again  … twice. Eventually I returned Fuzz Ball to its manufactured nest. All is quiet once more in the forest, but here are two photos taken moments before the owlet’s second fall. Once again, I had placed FuzzBall directly on the branch.

Here are two videos from this morning.

As a fyi, Great Horned Owls often nest in locations where it is impossible to branch. The owlets must fly when they venture forth for the first time. I have seen nests with owlets under bridges, in barn rafters, and in the crooks of cactus trees. None of these owlets had branches upon which to explore.

The Birds of Las Catalinas – Guanacaste – Costa Rica

Year 10

Version 2 of my book, The Birds of Las Catalinas, is finished! Even if you have no plans to visit Las Catalinas in Costa Rica, the book will be useful for anyone who plans a trip to the Guanacaste and / or the Highlands Rainforest Area. The birds will be similar, and you definitely would want to utilize the birding tools I review.

The new version of the book is greatly expanded and now has over 100 pages, organized into these sections:

  1. Introduction Maps and Birding Tools
  2. The Birds of Las Catalinas (link to town)
  3. Playa Potrero (link to beach)
  4. El Viejo Wetlands (link to Hacienda El Veijo)
  5. Rainforest Highlands (link to La Carolina Lodge)
  6. Alphabetical Index (birds by name)

The PDF version of the book includes many active web links. However, I have zero financial interest and have received no money from any of the organizations listed or linked in the book.

I have no plans to sell printed copies of the book. There will be a very limited hard copy version run for family and friends of the book, The Birds of Las Catalinas. If you want a physical copy of the book, you would need to pay me up front and contact me ASAP. Given the extremely limited number of copies being printed the book will NOT be cheap. I expect the cost to be a bit less than $100 per  copy.

The free PDF download will always be available, and there is no time constraint to get your download. You will find a screenshot of the book’s index page at the bottom of this post.

Black-Headed Trogon (images from the book)

Screenshot of the Birds of Las Catalinas book’s index page