Why am I drawn to owls?

I asked you, in yesterdays’ post, what you think of owls and here are some thoughts: love their wise human look; love owls; there are owls in our neighborhood – they are such silent fliers therefore difficult to track; they are beautiful, mysterious and a little haunting; and that owls are difficult to see and hear as their numbers have declined so much.

Owls do seem to have a quaint-comic humanlike image: round faces, big eyes facing forward, looking a little like they are wearing glasses, the wings, when resting, look a little like arms and they have little legs and big feet. I can quite imagine a little magical creature such as a gnome looking at me. They look wise or eerie. I wonder if it is their unblinking eyes that contribute to this look. They have another eyelid called the nictitating membrane, which is translucent, and when it blinks over the eye (horizontally) while flying or hunting for prey they are still able to see. When they look like they are staring they are actually using the nictitating membrane. The fact that they are silent fliers also adds to their eeriness and their calls are very eerie too. Not all owls hoot or go twit-too-woo some screech; either way they sound eerie in the middle of the night when everything is dark.  It is a shame that the owl population is dropping due to pest control, urban sprawl, and the decline in small animals, such as rodents.

Memories

I remember the first Owl I saw. I was five years old and we were traveling to a drive-in cinema one night. We drove over the mountain pass and along the way the owl was standing in the middle of the road. It didn’t fly away; maybe the car lights blinded it. My mother stopped the car and my father encouraged it out of the road. This was a memorable experience for me – watching how my parents cared enough for it to get it to safety.

My second memory was a book I received as a prize at school when I was six years old. It was a story about a naughty little owlet who wanted to play with the woodland animals all day instead of sleeping and then he was too tired to learn his lessons. The result was that he didn’t become a wise owl like his brothers. I think the message was lost on me but I loved the owls in the story.

My third and last memory for this post was: receiving two soapstone carved owls from a friend who went to Zimbabwe on a business trip. He later became my husband, Derek. From then on I was so fixated on owls that I became a collector of ornamental owls, from candles to condiment cellars and anything in between. Everyone knew just what to give me for my birthday and eventually I declared that I no longer collected owls. Yet in my heart I am still very drawn to owls, including all my happy memories and lovely gifts. I also include owls in many of my illustrations.

So why am I drawn to owls? I am sure it has a lot to do with early memories but I think that I am drawn to their wise look and mysterious, haunting presence. That they are so quiet, except for their call and their ‘old-human-look,’ also add to the appeal of these special little creatures. They feed my imagination and have inspired my art for years.

Appreciating wild life

Thank you for joining me in taking the time to consider a special animal that came across my path this week. It is good to stop and appreciate wild life when we encounter them.

Have a good evening,
~Morag Noffke~