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Bird of the Month Barn Owls are pale overall with dark eyes and a mix of buff and gray on the head, back, and wings, and white on the face, body, and underwings. When seen at night, they appear all white. The legs are long and the head is rounded with no ear tufts. Barn Owls nest and roost in cavities, abandoned barns, other buildings, and dense trees. They hunt by flying low over open habitats where they locate small rodents by sound. Their impressive hearing, aided by their satellite-dish-shaped faces, can locate mice and other rodents in complete darkness. Barn Owls don't hoot like other owls; instead, they make a harsh scream that lasts about two seconds. Barn Owls also make a loud, three-to-four second hiss at intruders or predators that disturb the nest. Barn Owls do not migrate and are year round residents on every continent except Antarctica. They range across the continental U.S. except for the north-central states. In our area, Barn Owls hunt in grassy fields such as those in north Beaumont and Banning, the area around Beaumont Avenue south of 1st Street, and the Potrero Unit of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, where in 2019 Tom Paulek and I saw a Barn Owl three miles south of Four Seasons. The Barn Owl that the Birding Club cited over Trail B on July 3 may have been looking for a new roosting area in our dense riparian habitat along Potrero Creek. Hopefully it will be seen again. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB As a follow up to our May 30 sighting of Four Seasons' first Blue Grosbeak, a male, a pair (male and female) was seen June 13 in the same area at the far west end of Trail B. This is good news for possible breeding, but these birds have not been seen for nearly four weeks so establishment of a breeding population is unlikely this year. The morning group bird walk on July 3 produced a total of 16 species. The highlight was a flyover Barn Owl, a Four Seasons' first and species #113! Other highlights included a handsome Red-shouldered Hawk and an adorable Cooper's Hawk chick at the nest over Trail B. Additional birding during the day by Tina Canon, Genie and Bill Cooper, Barbara and Tom Wasco, Tom Paulek, and me yielded five additional species, bringing the total for the day to 21 species. ~ Steve Edelman, steve.h.edelman@gmail.com FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | AUGUST 2021 43 Cooper's Hawk chick on the nest near Trail B. Photo by Kathryn McGiffen during our July walk Barn Owl. Photo by David Ward, Hawk and Owl Trust Red-shouldered Hawk near Trail B. Photo by Kathryn McGiffen during our July walk

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