Well, I have done a lot of gripping about that stupid Mockingbird that keeps pooping on my car mirrors but now I have a good bird story.

We put a fake owl in our front yard near our cars thinking that might get rid of the Mockingbird. Now we have a real owl visiting us every night around midnight. It is a large owl…to us…and it sits in my Mimosa tree which is bare of leaves right now. We could see the owl so clearly because there was a light from our neighbors’ yard behind the tree and owl. We sat quietly on our back porch and watched him for awhile. We had flashlights and shined them on him to get a better look and he didn’t seem to mind.

I looked up owls in Florida and found my owl. It is called a Barred owl.

My daughter first saw the owl a couple weeks ago when she was letting the dogs outside. She said it was creepy looking and he just sat there as she shined the flashlight at him to get a good look.

Then a couple nights ago when she let the dogs out, the bird flew right over her head. She said she could hear the wings flapping and making a swooshing noise.

My husband wanted to see the owl but he goes to bed early every night because he gets up at 5am every morning. We told him the Early Bird would never get to see the Night Owl unless he stayed up past l0pm. So he stayed up last night and saw the owl.

I suppose the light shining into our yard from the neighbors’ and that big tree in our yard makes a great spot to catch food for the owl. I read they can eat l000 mice a year. We have a lot of moles in our yard so I am assuming that is what he is feasting on from our yard. Also, the owls like palmetto bugs which are in abundance in Florida. I really like that owl. I sure hate palmetto bugs.

We are all very excited about our new bird friend. I have a bird feeder out for the smaller birds and we have an abundance of Blue Jays, Blue Birds and Cardinals which are so attractive. We often see Woodpeckers. And during the winter we see a lot of Canadian Geese flying overhead making loud honking noises as they pass over our home.

The other day we saw about 70 large birds flying overhead. I believe they were the vulture-type birds that you see along side the road eating the dead animals. That was a sight to see, too. It reminded me of the movie “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock.

My daughter who has been here since the beginning of November has commented on how many birds there are here. It is winter and birds fly South. Or maybe it has something to do with her living in the city and us living in the country. Either way, she seems to be enjoying the birds as much as we do. She is always surprised by the chickens when I let them out of their pen and let them wander around on our land. She said she just doesn’t expect to see a chicken in the backyard when she opens the door.

Enough for now…bye.