7/28/13 Starr Ranch Male Owl in Cavity 10:30 pm pst

Barn Owl on Limb and GHOs Nearby

Mrs. Barn Owl shows off her ironing and starching skills. This big rat is stiff as a board.

This little Barn Owl doesn't like rats in the house.

This is a fantastic video about the origin of Starr Ranch. We get to see a lot of the ranch itself and a great view of where the barn owls nest. The Huell Howser show went to Starr Ranch and filmed this video in 2011. I've never heard of Huell Howser or his show but I can tell you one thing for sure, that boy is from round here somewhere. I hear a familiar southern cadence in his voice.

Thanks, Patti, for the video. Yep, you know he's not from CA when he tells you about "a-whole-nother-place" - LOL. I wandered over to the barn owl hole & look who I found dozing?

What is this area of the Barn Owl's face called? The feathers open wide when the owl is relaxed and close up at other times.

Another educational video from RaptorCentral.

featherNH video

I found this video from Aug. 5th. I don't know how I missed it then but it's so good I wanted to post it now. It has amazing Barn Owl vocals and sounds you don't hear them make all the time. I wonder who the intruder was? Was it one of the owlets that came back to the nest or a stranger? Fascinating to watch them and their reaction to each other.


featherNH video

Posted in the Starr Ranch Chat today by feather:

feather on September 1, 2013 at 3:03 am said: Link to comment #121859
Since it’s a quiet time of night, I’ll post some of the info from the FAQs at to the cavity as we do have many new viewers over this past year. As to the BNOW nest cavity:
The cavity is in a huge Eucalyptus tree where a limb “ripped out” about 20 years ago, pulling some of the inside of the tree with it. It is at least 2 feet deep and 18″ across with more room off to the back left. It is also hollow above (sometimes adults or chicks go up there), but we do not know how far up it goes.
It is about 40 feet up and we have a permanent ladder installed to make frequent climbs efficient.
Cavity location : 33°37’46.18?N,117°33’15.12?W in Google Earth or most other internet mapping sites.
And also for those not well acquainted with the FAQs ~ under “Tell me about Starr Ranch”:
Starr Ranch Sanctuary is a 4,000 acre preserve owned and operated by the National Audubon Society. It is located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in the mild and semiarid Mediterranean climate of southeastern Orange County, California, approximately 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The land had once been a Native American Indian winter camp, a pasture for a famous Don, homesteads for prominent pioneers, and part of Rancho Mission Viejo. It briefly came into the hands of an oil millionaire, and narrowly escaped its fate as a motorcycle race course, before finally coming into the care of the National Audubon Society. Our mission is to offer innovative approaches to land management and environmental education that will influence the way Orange County citizens appreciate, conserve, and manage wildlands. We seek to instill a love of nature through educational programs that involve people of all ages in wildlife research and to provide a model of rigorous, sustainable land management through applied research. Starr Ranch is staffed by Manager Pete DeSimone, Director of Research and Education Sandy DeSimone, and Assistant Director of Research and Education Scott Gibson. For more complete information about Starr Ranch and all that goes on here please visit our homepage.

Listen to all the weird critter sounds in the background on this video! There's one I recognize without a doubt. Do you hear the Acorn Woodies?