Owls ~ Salt and Pepper

Greetings from a totally addicted Salt and Pepper fan. So far Pepper (the female) has been the only one spotted at the box. Last night she was here at 12:46am PST and stayed until 2:09am. Courtship for this pair should be starting soon. Even though I am excited about a new clutch, I hope they do hold off for a while; due to it being still a bit cold. So we shall wait and see.

A nice view of the Nicasio Owl Box to the left and below is Pepper this morning on side branch.

Courtship
The barn Owls courtship is usually out of sight for us, but we can hear them sometimes as they perform the "moth flight" an aerial display of shallow wing-beats; and an in and out flight during which time the male tries to entice the female into a nesting site. During this time you can hear the calls they make. Also to entice her into the nest he will bring her a "gift" (a rodent of some kind. When they finally come on the branches, you will see lots of preening of each other mostly the male preening the female. Also heard is the low (i call grunting sounds) from the female which is either an invitation for mating or preening. 


FACT:

The barn owl is notable among owls in that it has at least 15 distinctive calls, as well as tongue clicking and wing clapping modes of communication