A Month with Barn Owls

From ugly ducklings to beautiful swans, it’s been a month of caring for our little wise owls and they’re still going strong!  Our Barn Owl chicks have almost lost all their down (fluff) and are now covered with interesting brown, white and grey feathers with small black spotted detail.  It’s a wonderful sight as we’ve watched them grow over the last few weeks. We have been used to small fluffy birds that looked like cotton balls and now we have big strong birds of prey with striking feathers.  They have been catching mice with the help of traps set by the Ubizane team in an effort to teach them to deal with their prey as it would present itself in the wild.  It is always hard, as a human with no clue of what is going on in the mind of an animal, to rehabilitate and try teaching them how to become wild and follow their instincts. However we have seen these birds find their natural grounds as they show more and more of their natural instincts every day.  We are starting to recognise facial structures in the birds that make each one unique which makes the connection we feel towards these small, incredible creatures stronger and stronger every day.  It is an amazing transformation that has just reminded us of how wonderful wildlife really is and why it is so important to conserve it. 

The heart-shaped faces of our Barn Owls.

We had to place the owls on a cardboard service because their claws slide on the slippery table when we feed them.  

Barn Owls are different to normal owls not only with their heart-shaped face appearances but also because of the sounds they make.  Other owls make “hooting” sounds whereas Barn Owls only make a hissing or screeching noise.  During the time we have spent with them we have experienced these sounds first hand and realised that they have a peculiar way of intimidating their enemies.  They hiss at enemies while standing up straight and puffing their feathers to make their bodies appear bigger.  They then make circular movements with their heads.  It has been very interesting viewing these owls and we are looking forward to keep witnessing these magnificent birds of prey.

Water Biodiversity

The 22^nd of May is International Biodiversity Day and the theme this year is water biodiversity, following on last year’s marine biodiversity theme.  Water is an important aspect in every living organism’s life and without it there would, of course, be no life at all.  Water resources have been lowering throughout the world as Global Warming takes its toll on our planet.  It’s imperative for everyone to make an effort to save water in order to not only save ourselves but also the wildlife and aquatic bio mes that exist.  At Ubizane we treasure our water resources and have been recycling our water for the past few years.

We also have a majority of showers on the property which is known to save more water than baths.  The showers are each fitted with an eco-friendly shower head which makes use of less water.  We also encourage all staff members to use water sparingly and have a system in place where we switch off water pumps daily during certain hours.  This saves water as well as electricity getting us one step closer to becoming completely GREEN.

Our challenge to all our readers is to try and do at least one thing to save your water today.  Whether it is taking a shower rather than taking a bath or using your dish washing/bath water for your garden, every bit counts!

Silk of Gold

If you visit Ubizane you will realise that there are many interesting different creatures crawling and flying around in the lush bush.  One of our treasured critters is the beautiful Golden Orb Spiders.  Across the reserve you will notice big golden spider webs in the bush with big colourful spiders hanging from them.  Even the arachnophobias could not ignore the interesting features of this spider. 

The beautiful big golden webs are usually spun across a large area to entrap insects such as moths, butterflies, wasps and bees.  The silk created by the Golden Orb spider is so strong and unique that scientists are currently trying to synthesize the material.  Scientists have discovered that the silk is suitable for nerve re-growth.  This is not the only uses we humans have for the silk! Some fishermen use the silk, folded in a ball, to catch fish.  The silk has also been used on several occasions as a fashion garment material. 

These Golden Orb spiders, or Nephile, females can reach body sizes of 5.1cm and males only 2.1cm.  At Ubizane we certainly have a few big ones hiding in trees and in some old store rooms! 

                                A golden orb spider that was found at the top of a roof at Tree Lodge

 They usually have red and yellow stripes and patches on their abdominal side, whilst the top can be a yellow and white mix.  The colours make them easy recognizable but their claim to fame is definitively the sparkling golden orb that they weave. 

The spiders are not harmful to humans so don’t worry about these peaceful critters hanging around! On your next trip to Ubizane, look out for these beautiful big Golden Orb spiders! 

Barn Owl Update

Our Barn Owls are growing up very fast with feathers taking the place of their fluffy coats. It is an amazing transformation that people rarely get the chance to see.  We have been watching how these chicks become more and more self-efficient and shape into big Barn Owl adults. We are used to these owls species here at Ubizane as they regularly fly by during the night in between the Fever Trees.  They love making nests in these tall enchanting Fever Trees as well as in the thatch roofs of Tree Lodge.  Barn Owls have been the night companions of Tree Lodge staff members for a very long time and so it seems fitting that we rescued these little ones to bring them back to strength.  This morning we took some photo’s during our feeding session. 

The smallest one of the three still has a lot of feathers to grow but he’s getting there slowly.

The middle sized one looks odd with only a few fluffy patches on his head.

 Meet our oldest Barn Owl.  He is changing into an adult very fast with beautiful feathers almost covering his whole body now.

Keep checking our blog for the latest updates on the transformation of our beautiful Barn Owl chicks!

Latest on our Barn Owls

Our four Barn Owls found last Thursday, have been growing stronger and stronger every day.  We are excited to see that they are starting to transform into adults with feathers forming over parts of their wings and necks.  Watch them transform into beautiful graceful Barn Owl adults!

How they looked on Tuesday

Feeding time!

Starting to become bigger and stronger by the day

Beautiful feathers starting to come out