Wednesday II – Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da

[ninanevermore]

.
.
.
Today was the first day that really felt warm and spring like, and apparently I wasn't the only one to think so. We heard an owl in the large pine tree in our front yard this evening. Jeff called our son outside, and we all stood beneath the tree to listen. whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo?

Jeff got a flashlight out and we found the owl high up in the dead pine tree, which is the biggest tree in the yard. It was the one that got damaged in the hurricane and dropped half it's canopy on the roof. For a few months it looked like it might pull through, but finally it gave up the ghost. We need to have it taken down, but haven't yet.

whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo?

Another owl echoed the same call in return from across the lake by the playground.

whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo? our owl asked again.

whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo? his paramour answered. I went back in the house, but Jeff stayed outside to eaves drop of the conversation a bit longer.

Jeff commented later that the owl had two distinct calls that he made. "The first was whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo? followed by a trilling sound, and then he went who-who? who-who? with a different trilling sound."

"Did the other owl answer?"

"Uh-huh, and they kept flying closer together. With each call, he moved a few trees further away, and the other owl called out and was a little closer. I think they're somewhere more romantic now." He paused. "I wonder what the two calls meant?"

"Well, the first call, whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo?, I think that means Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? And when she answered back with the same thing, I think the second call meant…"

"Booyah!" Jeff said, having successfully translated it without my help.

"Yeah, that. There's two happy owls out there right. Congratulations, I think we're having owlets."

And in the coming week, ducklings, baby raccoons, fawns, little possums and God knows what else will arrive. Spring has sprung, and romance is in the air. The owls told me so tonight.



* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Comments

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

I am quite ready for spring.

[mersipan.livejournal.com]

:D

I love owls. How neat you got to see this up close!

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

It's arrived down here. It will slowly climb northward to where you are. :)

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

He was pretty high up, so we didn't get too close of a look, but good enough. I'm not sure what species it was (largish, with brown and white feathers - maybe a great horned owl). If he'd been in a live tree we might not have spotted him, but since the tree he was in lost his foliage we had a pretty good worm's eye view of him.

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

I wasn't aware that owls spoke French in Texas. :P LOL

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

It's possible they were Louisiana owls. :)

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

Ahhh.... cajun french or creole french? ;P

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

Cajun. Like owls, Cajuns will eat pretty much anything that crawls, slithers, swims or flies.

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

True that!