I know a pressing question for all of us lately has been - do owlets wear onesies? And if so, should we start knitting them.
I do not have an answer to the first part of that pressing question, but I do know the answer to the second. There will be no owlets this year so you can put the knitting needles down.
At the time they appeared, I thought these two, Mr. And Mrs. Snacks were a committed couple, who had come to survey my owl box open house. You can read about the start of this adventure and learn more about how they appeared and got their names over here.
In a nutshell (or owl pellet in this case) what happened is, in early spring I got an owl in my owl box, then I got a different owl, then the two of them were in there together, then they came and went periodically over a few weeks and then the grey one disappeared entirely, presumably finding a mate.
The red owl? The red owl is still here.
It seems to stay in my owl box for about half of the week. Sometimes for a few days in a row, sometimes every other day. There's no predicting when the owl will arrive but when they do they spend a lot of time at the bottom of the box.
I often don't even know that they're there until just before dusk when they pop out to get ready to go hunting.
Something interesting I've discovered is that if an owl is in the box, at some point in the day there will be screaming birds in the branches voicing their displeasure. This is especially true at dusk.
Blue Jays, cardinals and other birds get as close as they can to the box and scream and scream. If I'm in the kitchen and I hear screaming, I know my now nameless owl, is at home and safe.
You may notice I'm using a lot of ambiguous pronouns. That's because as of now I really have absolutely no idea if this red owl is a male or a female.
One thing I do know is that the red owl is definitely not a Mrs. Snacks any longer. This red headed owl is independent, living the single life, eating out at night and avoiding socialization all day.
If this owl had an Instagram account it would post nothing, comment on nothing, like nothing, but look at everything.
This gender fluid feather-ball needs a new name that better reflects them. And we're taking suggestions.
Facts
They are an owl.
They are single.
They are red/orange.
They are male or female.
They are a conundrum.
They do not hoot so much as whinney like a horse.
Put the knitting needles down and pick the baby names book up. Go!
Diana
I love the photo of them together, it is beautiful. I vote for “Uluk” for the redhead. 🦉 thanks for the update
Gina
I have a terrible bird phobia so seeing these pics is both interesting and terrifying to me at the same time. Lol Awesome pics!
I especially love the owl house because I recently lived in my own tiny house which we call “The Love Shack”. (We lived there 5 years following a house fire and just moved out. Our friends helped build it in eight weeks in our backyard so that we could be at home until we could get back home. It is the little house love made and was a great little space for two old love birds.)
I found this cool article about Screech Owls in Canada. Interesting!
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/overview#
Maybe Gray and Rusty?
Keep us posted.
Tracey
Orange/Red Owl name suggestions:
(Orange) Cheeto, Cheezit, Pumpkin,
(Red) Cayanne, Pimento, Snapper, Beans
They are all food - related. I must be hungry....
Kat - the other 1
Rum. Rumball. Kracken (a nice rum).
When our last cat Mindy went to the vet to be spayed (@ 1 years old and 6 months after she claimed us), turned out "she" had to be neutered instead. 😂 After several weeks of confusing him with various names, (poor baby! Original name was Pumpkin, but as soon as he got used to it mom confused him by trying a bunch more,) me or my brother, I think, finally convinced mom to just add a Mr.
And Mr. Mindy got his forever name. Then he got a very aggressive cancer and died just short of his 8th birthday. 😫😥
Wow that got dark. Sorry.
THE
PAT just PAT, they, them, her, he, him, her's, please PAT me. PAT the Owl.
Karen
Oh God you make a good case. ~ karen!
Jennifer VanderWaal
Oh please, please, please let the name be Pat. Hilarious!
Brenna
One vote for Pat!
Alane
Don’t forget Pat’s date “Chris”! 😂
Kim Mittelsteadt
How about "Rajah" for the smaller orange one, as it refers to a dark orange color.
And if the larger owl ever returns, name it "Eclipse", as it will cast a pretty big shadow over the little one.
Kim in WI
Susan
Red. Just Red.
JJfromCali
Bundy (as in Owl Bundy)
...and your pic of the duo is fantastic!
Wendy D
I’m going with Edwina or Ed. 🦉
Tres
I came here to suggest Ed. A throwback to Mr. Ed the talking horse and Ed can be short for Edwina.
Wendy D
That’s what I was thinking. Edwina for female and Ed for male.
So cute 🦉
carmen
We never got an owl in our owl box. Ever. I'm so happy to read about yours! For a name, I'm thinking "Al". It could be Allison or Alfred.
Peggy
So sorry to hear no onesies will be needed. How about Eclipse? Or maybe Topaz... Nevermind - you'll come up with a good one. That pic of them both is gorgeous. Love owls.
Uncle Benny
How kewl to name an unknown gender owl on the first day of pride month.
I submit Adrien as the name. It would be perfect since it's both applicable for male or female, which we will eventually know when it finally chooses a mate. It's interesting, and exotic and used in every country in one form or another.
An owl of the world.
🏳️🌈 Happy Pride Month
Karen
Marked the occasion with a walk with Philip wearing his rainbow dog collar. ~ karen!
Leslie
How about Noche since they are nocturnal (aren't they?) or Uluk (owl in Sanskrit) which sounds like "ooh, look!". Or... Ruby?
Ada
Hi Karen,
You've probably already been to the Cornell bird page. From what I read, I am thinking the red one is the male and the gray one is the female. Maybe...who knows.
Thanks for your delightful posts
Robin P
Hmm. It might just be me, but the red owl in the first picture definitely looks pregnant. 😎😁
Susan Schlub
It's the feathers.... It would be female then, as she'd say, do these feathers make me look fat?
Hettie
How about Pony as a name? It's gender neutral and since your owl sounds like a horse it makes sense. :)
Karen
Pony Boy was on my list of names for Philip. :) ~ karen!
Hettie
I was going to suggest Pony Boy (what a super read The Outsiders is), but I didn't think it'd fit with the gender-neutral theme. :)
Monica
Redd Snaxx!
Linda in Illinois
Sorry to hear that the screech owl couple is no longer together. Maybe she wasn't so impressed by Mr. Snacks. lol
He does look very majestic in the photo of them both. You should have that published.
Another thought i had was that possibly she has an egg in the box and the Mr. doesn't have any other part in the raising until birth day.
I'm still hoping for bitty owlet babies. Love owls, they are so wonderful.
Thank you for the update.
Karen
I'm afraid not Linda. The owls mate for life and definitely stay together for nesting. ~ karen!
Sue. McK.
And, there is absolutely zero chance that the gray “fellow” (?) didn’t mate with the redhead & she(?) is harboring a clutch of eggs down there in the bottom of the box? I’m pretty sure that’s a mission impossible happening, but, just had to wonder out loud…
Karen
Zero, zero chance, I'm afraid. ~ karen!
Sue McK
Drat! I was afraid of that. Tacky as this is: “It was fun while it lasted.” Thank you for the great photography of their stay with you. And, ofcourse your ever hilarious comments.
Louis Eller
Oh I'm so Sorry was really looking forward to a bunch of Baby Snacks pictures,
Maybe next year....Right??? or maybe put up another box, one for each.....