After Saturday morning’s housework and errands, Anne retired upstairs to the sew-larium and I in turned descended to the bike-cave and hopped aboard the bike-mobile and rolled out the basement door. Heading east on Wydown, I rode to the Park. After three-quarters of the way around the bike trail, I decided to do some road work. I soon saw signs advertising a Mardi Gras event at the Worlds Fair Pavilion. I decided to ride over there and check it out.
On my way there I bumped into Mark Glenshaw of Forest Park Owls. I first met Mark back in 2009 when he and Edward Crim of Forest Park 365 fame were observing two Great Horned Owls named Sarah and Charles. I saw Mark again last spring when he was again observing this pair. Last year it was later and there were three owlets to be seen too. February is too early to see owlets, but Mark did point out for me Charles and then he showed me their nest. I didn’t have a very good camera with me on the ride, but I tried taking a few pictures. For this post though, I’ve recycled a shot of Charles from 2009.
Rodents of Owl Hill, Beware!
Mark’s dedication to his very particular birding pursuit is awesome to behold. In the few minutes that I spoke with him he recounted a complete history of Charles and Sarah’s hunting, mating and nesting behavior so far this year. Earlier this month, during the ice storm he was out there on watch. On his blog, Mark recounts various hunting incidents involving his owls and various URO (Unidentified Rodent Objects). According to Mark, Charles and Sarah’s love life has been very active this year, much more so than normal. The owls nest in trees and they move from tree to tree between years. This year they had picked out one tree for their nest, but then at the last-minute, and after a frantic search, they moved to another one. I’m sure they’ll do fine, as they have in the past.
After I left Mark, I cruised by the Mardi Gras event, but after having had an opportunity to commune with nature and with one of man’s more gentle souls, it just seemed crass, so I rode on. I got 15 miles. I hope that tomorrow, I can drag Anne out on her bike too. Then I can show her what Mark showed me.