I also passed through Greene Co. Sunday (7/29) afternoon, and as I was leaving the S.Mohawk wildlife area on Bible's Chapel Rd. I found a road kill barn owl just west of Oakwood rd intersection. It was a beautiful bird but I would have rather seen it flying.
Ben Britton
Hamblen Co.
From: dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
Reply-To: dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
To: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Bristol-Birds] Greene Co. barn owls
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:13:39 -0400
SUNDAY afternoon 29 JULY 2007, Dianne Draper and I saw two barn owls in a barn behind the Clyde Austin 4-H Center in Greene Co., TN. Today, TUESDAY 31 JULY, I saw them there again. The barn floor is entirely filled with round haybales, so entry by humans is difficult. Earlier this year when the barn was empty, I occasionally saw one barn owl, and I was only finding about 2 or 3 owl pellets a week in the barn, indicating intermittent use. I'm hoping the hay will entice them to use the barn as their main roosting area for awhile. The owl pellets found there usually contained skulls of Hispid Cotton Rats and Southern Bog Lemmings, probably from the 4-H Center's wetland nearby. Shrews and voles were also often present. We have had a barn owl nest box in place in this barn for a few years, but so far no sign of nesting, though one winter it appeared to be used quite a bit as a roost site.
Don Holt
Johnson City, TN
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