[Mnbird] An owl in the birdbath

[Allen Batt]

  I use a heated dog dish as a birdbath. It thinks it’s a birdbath and I don’t have the heart to tell it otherwise. It works great and I haven’t needed the heated part recently. That tiny body of water has brought me much pleasure. On July 31, an Orchard Oriole spent time in the dish, splashing with a gusto nearly matching that of the Baltimore Orioles. Then at dusk, an Eastern Screech-Owl visited the pool. The tiny owls regularly use birdbaths for drinking and bathing. So many things patronize that birdbath, I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of those ancient U.S. Navy Frogmen that were available as toys in boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes showed up. Little me put high-pressure propellant (baking powder) in a frogman’s foot and he went diving. A miniature frogman might be too much to hope for, but you never know what you’ll see when you watch birds.

Al Batt
Your Freeborn County Correspondent