The Grove Revisited

It was like we were returning to a magical kingdom when we went back to Owl Grove last Sunday. The whole area simply took on a green shimmer and sparkle as we pulled in. We kept our excitement quiet and moved slowly through the trees hoping and hoping to find evidence of last year's nesting pair. We looked for thick, chalky owl poop around the bases of the trees. We found it. Two trees wore lots of poop and we decided they were perching trees since we couldn't spot a nest. We found pellets under a couple of trees. A couple of the pellets were fresh and at least one was bone bare from one of last year's meals. Last year's nest showed no signs of occupancy but we decided that the female could have been hunkered way down in the hole. And then we heard it: a distinct warning trio of hoots. We decided it was the male cautioning the female to keep extra still and quiet. We were delighted. We have evidence that the pair has returned to their nesting territory. We drove away content.