Outdoors TheReview Wednesday, December 30, 1992 — All Along with Canada jays, great homed owls are our earliest nes- ters. While the photo of a young great homed ow! in our story today is definitely early, I have found this species on full clutches of eggs in early February with the thermom- eter registering 30 below zero Farenheit. Since the laying of additional eggs occurs at intervals ranging from three days to a week, in very cold regions it is necessary for the owls to begin incubation with the laying of the first egg. Otherwise, early eggs would be ruptured from the freezing of the contents and would fail to hatch. As a result, the chicks tend to be staggered in age and size. The normal egg clutch here varies from two to four Although a pair of horned owls may very occasionally pull together bits of material to form a tude nest, they generally utilize the abandoned nesting sites of other large birds, such as hawks, crows, ravens, magpies, eagles, Canada geese and great blue herons. I have also found them nesting on bare ledges, in caves and under bridges. Much has been written about the food preferences of horned owls. It is certainly varied, tending: to reflect those items which are readily available in the nesting area. Most lists that I have read indi- cate that rodents, rabbits and hares usually make up the bulk of prey brought in to the chicks. However, they also consume some birds, some reptiles and a few amphibi- ans. One spring, Mary and I kept : very. careful records at one nest. - The plan was to check the nest - every day in order to record what the adults had brought in. We also gathered up all the pellets regurgitated by the chicks and floated them in water in order to separate the bones of the prey animals. Then we determined the identities by examining the skulls, _ jaws and teeth. The results were somewhat sur- prising. Meadow voles, red-backed voles, deermice and pocket gophers predominated by far. In addition, we recorded one coot, one flicker, two Hungarians (European grey partridge), por- tions of a skunk (together with the aroma) and four ground squirrels. One morning the nest contained Horned owls like their turkey, foo YOUNG HORNED OWL HAPPY NEW YEAR CY HAMPSON photo no fewer than nine pocket gophers, our most common subterranean rodent which spend most of their lives below ground. However, they do forage above ground briefly about dawn. These are the grayish, bulldozers of the rodent world which can play havoc with gardens by consuming vege- tables, underground stems and roots below ground. The ground squirrels, which are all diurnal in their activities, clearly indicate that these owls do, on occasion, hunt during the day. We had found one dead homed owl with its head, mouth and feet loaded with porcupine quills. The owl had taken on a formidable prey animal indeed. DUNSMUIR LODGE Continued from Page A9 Strickland, will be held on March 20. The fee is $75. More scientific facts will be related by Dr Verena Tunnicliffe from the Dept. of Biology and the school of Earth and Ocean Sciences in the first session of the new Dine with a Scientist series. The $40 fee includes a three- course dinner at Dunsmuir Lodge plus a program by Tunnicliffe, who is internationally known for her pioneering work on animal com- munities surrounding the deep sea hot vents on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The dinner and program will be ' held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. April 1. Learning to Put It in Writing is the focus of an eight-session work- shop by that name taught by writer Craig Piprell. Held every Wednesday from April 7 to May 26, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., the course will teach the basics of writing to those inter- ested in the skill but no formal workshop experience or work in print. Beginning artists can learn the basics of drawing from Joseph Chee Ming Hoh dumng an eight- session, Tuesday night course from 7 to 9:30 p.m. May 4 to June 22. A history of dress from the neolithic period to the present will be covered in a six session course taught by Jocelyn Burgoyne. Classes will be held Wednesdays, June 2 to July 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. Three study groups are planned for the coming four months under the SAGE program. Planned study groups include The Age of Pericles, meeting every Wednesday from Feb. 10 to March 31; Islam: Understanding its Tra- ditions, meeting Thursdays from March 4 to April 29: and The Periods of Civilization, meeting Feb. 23, March 2, March 8, March 15, March 22, March 30, April 6 and April 13. For information or to register for any of the above programs, contact the Univeristy of Victoria’s exten- - sion division at 721-8481. A local farmer had witnessed another homed owl making off with his house cat, locked firmly in the talons of the enterprising owl. On occasion, horned owls util- ize farm poultry that has not been securely penned. So perhaps as you sit down to your New Year’s turkey, a horned owl may be engaged in rending.a member of the same species. Happy New Year! @Smbs Funeral Chapels Offer a complete choice of Professional Service. —TRADITIONAL —MEMORIAL —DIRECT CREMATION —FULL PRE-ARRANGEMENTS SERVICES Services from your church or in either of our chapels at 1803 QUADRA STREET VICTORIA Or. 317 GOLDSTREAM AVE. COLWOOD JANUARY Starts Sat. Jan 2nd 656-2932 or 388-5155) Qur Reputation is on Your Head HOUSE OF RUSSEL HAIRSTYLISTS LTD. UNISEX 656-1522 see ® Precision Cutting IN SIDNEY CENTRE #102-2367 Bevan Ave., Sidney, B.C. 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