Went to the annual Loon Festival yesterday

[nabisho]

They have a annual Easter weekend Loon Festival at Walker Lake, Nv. The Department of Wildlife puts it on and gives free boat rides for everyone that wants to help go out and help count the loons during their annual migration to Canada. Walker Lake is one of their stopping points and they usually stay a month. These are very special loons, in that they are inland loons and don't go to the ocean. Most loons migrate along the ocean shore. We only had about 200 loons this year because the PH level is too high in the lake for the little fish they eat to spawn. We had a drought until last year so the fish eggs don't hatch and there's no food. Usually there are 1200-1400 loons, they are going over to a couple other lakes where the fishing is better. Hopefully with the drought being over things will get better next year and the fish will be back to norma. Had a pretty good day anyway - hope everyone else had a great Easter.

NAB ;-)

Here's the loon counting boat.



And we picked up a bunch of orphaned barn owls from the DOW lady to raise. When the farmers sell their hay bales they sometimes find nests full of barn owl babies, these guys were out of Fallon, NV. So far we have 14 baby barn owls to raise this year - last year there were 56 total.



We had to take the two babies with us because B4 they get theri eyes opened they have to be fed about every two hours so they got to go.

[TAWhatley]

Wonderful photos, Nab! Bless you for what you are doing .. I've gotten my fair share of owls and others out of hay deliveries.

Terry

[Reti]

How cute those babies are.
Great pics.
Thanks for sharing.

Reti

[feralpigeon]

Wow Nab, beautiful pictures of the lake and the barn owls as well as very interesting. Never realized the thing about the hay farmers and the nesting owls. Incredible that you raise the babies that have been found in nests.
Are you able to release them back into the wild after being hand raised this way? Please tell us a bit more about your barn owl adventures!

fp

[Lady Tarheel]

Nab, what a great person you are to take care of all the feathered and furred friends you have. I never knew owls would nest in hay. You must stay really busy feeding them. Are they all barn owls?

Would love to hear more about them. I've never taken care of an owl and it was interesting to see what a baby owl looks like. At that age they almost don't look like an owl.

[Trees Gray]

Thank you for helping out wildlife. those owls are so cute!

By the way, what do you substitue their meals with, when mama owl can't feed them?

[nabisho]

The very young ones get sliced up mouse parts. Then when they get big enough they get sliced up calves & chicken liver and parts. Then they graduate to whole mice when they get big enough to go outside into the aviary. Then they move on to live mice so they can learn to hunt. Plus they all have to have a calcuim supplement because in the real world they would be getting bone & cartladge etc. They all get relesed back into the wild when they get big enough and have learned to fend for themselves.

NAB :-)