From World Bird Sanctuary
It is officially hooting season!
Hooting season is the time of year when owls hoot more frequently to establish territory, find mates, and get ready for breeding. Owls will begin defending their territory and courting their mates in late fall, and the breeding season wil go throughout winter and early spring. Depending on the species, eggs may even begin hatching in early January.
Some of our owls may court their roommates, but some of them court the staff. Cecil, the great horned owl, is a human imprint. Someone illegally raised him from a chick, and he does not see himself as an owl. He sees other great horned owls as a threat. So according to Cecil, humans are the proper mate instead! He has been hooting frequently to get the attention of his favorite people, and even tries to bring them gifts such as this leaf!
While we must admit it is a very impressive leaf, we must turn down his advances. Don’t feel too bad for Cecil’s unrequited love though, as he gets to spend his days hanging out with the people he prefers.
A play on the movie director Cecil B. DeMille. :)
Gotcha. That was the part I was able to figure out. Wasn’t sure if there was a specific movie reference about the leaf or some such.
Now I know it’s “Mr. Demille, I’m ready for my close up” in all the references and not Me DeVille. I also learned that is a somewhat creepy reference to have in a kids cartoon. 😧