Six Eyes and 1/2 a Rabbit … a Tale of 3 Owlets!

Year 7

Do you ever have a sneaking suspicion when hiking through the forest there are eyes upon you? Perhaps six eyes?! It’s more than a suspicion for me!

Recently the triplets have started throwing food at me … LOL! When I walk over at sunrise there is often evidence of the previous night’s menu! If you were a baby owl, I guess you might be unhappy if Mom dared to serve the “back end” of a rabbit for supper!

In the past few days I have found two dead rats (one whole, one half), decapitated robins and crows, the hind quarter and talon of what I believe to be a Northern Harrier … all immediately underneath the nest. By the next morning all these rejects are gone. Given the frequent fox tracks I find at the base of the nest tree, I suspect someone is stopping by for “take-out” every night. Regardless, Miss Manners would not approve of the table manners of the Great Horned Owl chicks!

One more pic … I rarely see all three triplets. It is amazing how such large owlets can hide behind tree boughs.

Friday Owl Night at the Movies!

Year 7

Before Netflix. Before Hulu … and even before Amazon Prime there was Friday Night at the Movies. Youngsters will not remember the days when the family gathered around the TV and watched the one movie available via commercial “over the air” television station. Here is Duluth, Minnesota in the early 1960’s we had two options … NBC and CBS.

Thus … back to a simpler time. Here are some “stills” of the actors and actresses … the Great Horned Owl Triplets.

And the promised movies!

The Triplets a bit before sunset yesterday evening (email subscriber video link)

Sunrise crow attack … Mom & Dad will save me! (email subscriber video link)

Okay … maximize this image and count the owls. How many can you find? Only Dad is missing. The answer is four!

Finally, a few other birds are returning to the Northland. Two days ago I saw my first Red-Winged Blackbirds at a neighborhood pond. However, there is still snow in the woods (not much).

Descent into Darkness … Dawn! Blepharospasm

Background

This post has nothing to do with birding, yet everything to do with birding. Readers who have known me for a period of time understand I have a rare vision disorder called Blepharospasm. In short my brain and eyelid muscles do not communicate properly. Last August I was forced to face the reality that I was becoming functionally blind. During a bicycle tour of the Norwegian Arctic, because of poor vision I crashed my bike and fractured some ribs. It was obvious to both my wife, Molly, and me that I needed help. I had been figuring out ways to deal with my deteriorating vision. I was out of “work arounds”.

This blog post gives everyone access to what was a very private diary I started during the very dark days of last year. In fact, in December I even Googled the terms Blepharospasm and suicide. While I don’t believe I was serious about taking my own life, I did want to learn how others dealt with the deep depression of vision loss. Thankfully, my condition was eventually correctly diagnosed and I am now receiving treatment which has returned my vision. For the rest of my life I will receive Botox injections on a periodic basis in my eyelid muscles. This effectively blocks the bad nerve miscommunication and allows me to keep my eyes open. I am able to see the wonder of nature! Thus, this blog post is about birding.

After a period of time, I decided to first give my children and their spouses the ability to read my diary. Once I knew I would survive this journey, I decided I wanted to make my diary public in the hope that others who have Blepharospasm will be comforted by my experience and know they are not alone.

Thus … my diary (downloadable PDF) … public for the first time.

Descent into Darkness … Dawn!
One man’s journey through vision loss & recovery

Lake Superior at the mouth of the Lester River … Before Dawn One Winter Morning
(800 yards from my house)