It was one of those moments when, for example, you try to jump into your trousers with both legs at the same time just as somebody walks passed the open doorway. Or you decide that juggling two eggs can't be that difficult... only to find that it is just as somebody walks into the kitchen.
That's how it probably felt for the barred owlet a couple of weeks ago. Just after dawn I was strolling around the garden when something caught my eye in a tree to my left. I stopped and looked. A barred owlet was hanging upsidedown holding on with one foot. We looked at each other for a second or so then it was gone. I did not actually see what happened to cause this less-than-majestic pose. Perhaps it had just decided to try perching on an impossibly thin twig only for me to walk passed at that very moment but I assume it had grabbed an insect or lizard or other animal small enough for its breakfast (or would it be late supper for an owl?) only for its talons to grab the twig as well and thereby prevent it flying off easily.
If that is the case then what I witnessed is probably a nightly event in the world of small owls that grab prey from leafy twigs. And what seemed to me such an unusual event is really just highlighting how little I know. The lesson is therefore that I should open myself up to learning by strolling around the garden with no chores in mind more often. However, part of me does also like the idea that even owls can feel embarrassment.
This illustration is my memory of the event with the added unseen assumption of a grasshopper in its talons. For my own sense of correctness, the tree leaves are the right species, a local one that I have not been able to identify yet. However, as with any illustration I do I started out with more-or-less accurate colours only to play around at the end to find more striking combinations and thereby throw accuracy out the window. In reality barred owlets are not really blue. Here is the original version more true to the real world.
And a few more colour variations I like purely for their aesthetic appeal.
A pair of barred owlets has recently taken up almost permanent residence in our garden which I am so happy about. The sadder part of the story is that they have probably moved here because our only nearby patch of woodland was recently virtually destroyed for the stupid reason that if left untouched the land-owner would have to pay higher land tax. This policy is an attempt to stop land speculation but one that has dire consequences for local wildlife. At least they left the wonderful large rain tree but turning the corner and seeing the devastation that day made my heart sink. Here is a photo of what was thick woodland the day before. You can see a traditional spirit house in the middle - I imagine the spirit living there must be really pissed off. What a mess.
