According to a particularly well-travelled birding friend of ours, Davis is perhaps one of the best places in the country to easily see barn owls. It is a rare night that we don't hear the 'click-click-click-click-click' of a barn owl cruising over the house.
From but she's a girl..., we learn another reason to appreciate barn owls -- they have a lovely scent! And, according to the Guardian, crested auklets smell like tangerines.
Hmm, maybe scent-listing will be the next challenge for elite birders. :)
Posted by Numenius at May 28, 2003 10:01 PM | TrackBackThe well-travelled friend was astonished to see a barn owl peering down at us from a nest box in the middle of the Kinko's parking lot (opposite Steve's Pizza). There's another reliable urban spot to see them; the nest box above the parking lot for the Davis Food Coop. I often look for owl pellets below the latter for the Raptor Center's programs for children.
Posted by: Pica at May 29, 2003 05:45 AM