Tales of White Nite: Part 2 of the Screech Owl Assistance

Monday morning I went to check on the screech owl, and I couldn't find him. I looked in the worm tray (see previous post) and found that one of the huge, arnica and hypericum laced nightcrawlers had been eaten. I looked all around on the ground and couldn't find the owl. Then I almost stepped on him. He flew lowly and slowly across the road and landed somewhere on the ground. I went over there to find him because I thought it was unsafe for him to be sitting on the ground for a long time. I looked and looked and couldn't find him. Then I almost stepped on him again- he sure can camoflauge! This time he flew across the river and landed in a branch in a sycamore tree. He still wasn't flying very strongly. I made a mental note of which tree he was in and went to work.

Jenna happened to be going to Newport that day for other reasons, and I asked her and her caregiver to stop at the pet store and buy me a mouse to feed the owl. They did, but they didn't get back with it until after dark. I went ahead and went over to the owl spot just before dark to try to find him and check on him. I put on by big tall rubber boots and forded the river. I couldn't find him anywhere. About that time I got a call on my cell phone from Jenna's caregiver who was frantic. It turns out the mouse was chewing its way through the carrier box in the car as they were on their way home from Newport. Jenna tried to poke it back in the box with her finger, and it bit her. They were both kind of freaking out. I told them I would see them at the house in a few minutes.

Well, I went over to Jenna's house to retrieve the naughty mouse, even though I had not seen the owl. When I got there, the mouse had been tied up in a grocery bag and chucked in the outdoor trash can so it wouldn't escape. I got the bag out of the trash can, and opened it up and HARK! There were 2 mice in there. I guess the pet store lady threw in a freebee... I decided to put them in a big plastic storage bin with some bedding and take them to the spot I had last seen the owl, in case he was close by hiding. That way he would have some easy food- you see, the storage bin was such that a small injured owl could get in, but the mice could not get out.

I forded the river again, this time in the dark, and placed the bin of mice on the ground under the sycamore. In the morning I returned early and forded the river a
3rd time to check the situation. Both mice were still in the bin, but one had died (froze to death?) and the other was fine. I decided the owl was most likely recovered and gone and I retrieved the living mouse and left.

That is how I ended up with a new pet. I have named her (I think it's a she) White Nite, and I have plans to let these people feed her to their snake next week, but I am afaid I might be getting attached. You see, I like to talk pretty to White Nite and pet her with my finger, and yesterday I gathered the gumption to pick her up. It was fun. Her seemingly favorite pasttimes are: eating and napping. I don't know what I'll end up doing, but for now she is sharing the Airstream with me. SM thinks I should build her a replica of the Airstream to live in.