THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606250125
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: 87 lines
Only a mother could love the three baby barn owls huddled in the loft of Dick Jones' boathouse in Sandbridge.
The loose-jointed white beings, about 12 inches tall, look more like little apes than owls. Their pinkish, heart-shaped faces and beaks and their big black eyes that stand out prominently from their white heads somehow make the owlets look like floppy stuffed monkeys.
Only a mom could love their cry, too. When we took a peek, the babies responded with insistent hissing.
``It sounds like a steam line that has a hole in it,'' Jones said.
Some say adult barn owls look like monkeys, too, but to me, the parents are not at all like the little ones. Although the grown-ups have heart-shaped faces, they are beautiful in an exotic-looking way. The big, slender owls' white heart faces are framed by speckled, brownish bodies.
They are called barn owls because they often nest in barns. This Sandbridge pair just happened to choose Jones' boathouse, or as some would call it, boatbarn.
It takes tolerance to enjoy barn owls in your boathouse, or anywhere else for that matter. Owls, just doing what comes naturally, are messy. Jones never knows when he'll come upon the heads of mice or birds lying on the boathouse floor, the leavings from the previous night's meals.
Every day, he knows he'll find pellets that the owls cough up after meals. An owl pellet is a mass of more animal parts, usually fur, feathers or bones, regurgitated by the birds because the parts are indigestible. And, of course, it's also hard to overlook the owl droppings.
In addition, Jones had wanted to put a new roof on the boathouse this spring. But he is taking his visitors in good-natured stride, hosing off the decking each day and waiting for a new roof until the babies leave.
Now Jones has another worry. He is scared that when the youngsters do leave, they will fall from the loft into Back Bay and drown. According to raptor expert Reese Lukei, baby owls often leave the nesting area before they can actually fly.
To get around, the little ones become adept at what is called branching. Using their sharp little talons, they walk across branches and even up tree trunks. But there are no trees in the boathouse, which is surrounded by water except for the dock that leads to the entrance.
Jones has discussed with Lukei the possibility of putting a net or some other safety device under the area of the boathouse where the owls are nesting. He thinks he will erect a barn owl nesting box on the land side of the boathouse next year. He would see to it that the box was mounted out far enough to be over land rather than water.
``I'd like to make something permanent,'' Jones said, ``if they are coming back.''
Although Jones knows he has had owls around his yard for several years, he is not sure what kind they have been. But, according to Lukei, it would be hard to miss the call of a barn owl.
``They have an ear piercing screech,'' he said. ``You need cotton in your ears and ear muffs!''
But the scream apparently has no effect on the owls' own hearing. Some say the barn owl has the most acutely developed hearing of all animals, Lukei said.
``They can hear a mouse running in the grass 100 yards away,'' he added.
The barn owl is listed as a species of special concern in Virginia because not much is known about their abundance. Lukei, who is a research associate at the Center of Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary, is assisting with a center study that is trying to determine the barn owl population level in Tidewater.
``The only ones I've located in this area are the ones at Dick Jones,' '' Lukei said. ``But there have got to be others around here.''
If you have a barn owl or think you may have a barn owl nesting in your barn or boathouse, call Lukei at 340-5948. He'd like to come check it out.
P.S. Both eagles born in a nest at Stumpy Lake this winter have fledged, said Reese Lukei, who has been keeping an eye on the youngsters. Counting the two eagles that fledged earlier from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, there are four more eagle citizens in Virginia Beach.
TAKE A DOLPHIN WATCH BOAT TRIP at 9 a.m. or 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays or at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 1 with the Virginia Marine Science Museum. The fee is $12 for adults and $10 for children, 11 and under. Call 437-BOAT for reservations. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know
about Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555.
Enter category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Three baby barn owls, who look as much like monkeys as birds and
make sounds like a leaky steam pipe, have taken up residence in Dick
Jones' boat house in Sandbridge. by CNB