Our resident SPOTTED EAGLE OWLS may be looking to take up residence.

Hi there everybody

I simply had to break my "LIVING LIFE TO THE MAX" blogging sabbatical to share this important and exciting event:

I woke to a cacophony of bird screeching this morning.  The garden birds were sending up squawks of unhappiness.  Judging from their collective disdain, something serious was going on. Grey-louries, glossy starlings, black-eyed-bull-bulls, Hadedah Ibises, crested barbets, doves and the like were all shouting in unison  I rushed outside to see what the commotion was all about.

There, nestled in the tall palm Tree in the corner of our garden was the intruder,

A BEAUTIFUL SPOTTED EAGLE OWL.

Its feathers blend in perfectly with the general environment and it is shielded by the fronds of the palm tree - a perfect place to sleep in for (at least) today.

 For me, this is a treasure beyond measure.  I love animals, birds and all the creatures of the earth but owls have a special place in my heart because I hand-reared a barn owl when I was young . A SPOTTED EAGLE OWL, however is something really special. Although Spotted Eagle Owls are prevalent in the Johannesburg area, they are continually under threat because of loss of habitat in our urban environment. African cultural and superstition has garnered up an unfair reputation too. Traditional folklore suggests they are from the devil. In essence, these beautiful creatures need to be protected!  

A special project was started about 5 years ago - 

THE OWL BOX PROJECT 

(You can read about it HERE)

I've been aware of this project, but thought that the trees in our own garden were a little too  small for these large creatures.  However, it's been five years since the project started and our trees have grown substantially.  There is now plenty of space for ALL the birds in our garden.  Ironically, the owls shouldn't threaten the general garden birds either (despite all their objections) because their hunting times are at night (when every sensible feathered friend is asleep). There is more than enough space in our midst.

Well, I'm desperate to protect this owl pair.  I've not seen them in our neighbourhood up until now, so I have placed my urgent order for an owl box. It also makes sense for the owls because we have an adequate green belt adjacent to our property - plenty of space for the creatures to hunt for food.  In addition, they are an excellent help in terms of controlling the rat population.

 Only time will tell if the owls will indeed like what I am going to be offering them.  If all goes well, they will have their own unique "OWL BOX" early next week.

Please, pretty owls...stay a while.

I am so excited!!!

Sending lotsaluv