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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1983)
a^!l p|!/W s.w’S'Vio asdui/j£ v e&&T '€zz: 'jCMrpu^' Owls may live in Kyle Field by Ray Walker Battalion reporter Rumor has it that bam owls have nested in Kyle Field for six to seven years, and Dr. Keith Arnold, professor curator of birds for Texas wildlife collec tions, says it's true. “A study was completed on the owls in 1982 by Mark Wit- man, who received his masters degree in 1982, and Ricky Pat rick^ Class of'82,” Aronald says. Witman and Patrick disco vered a pair, one male and one female, of owls on Dec. 19,1979, nesting in the west side of the stadium. Over a period of 11 months, the birds raised 14 to 15 young. Bam Owls don't build nests; instead they use ledges, holes in buildings and any other place that can be made into a suitable nest sites. "They were nested between cement beams under the first deck," Arnold says. "I am not sure if they're still there, howev er I am told you can still find owl pellets in that area of the sta dium." PeUets are the remains of an owl's prey that it does not eat. Owls usually swallow their prey whole. The indigestible parts are then ejected via the mouth as tightly compressed pellets. "The owls, not dangerous animals, eat a lot of rats and mice," Arnold says. "The land behind the intramural fields offer perfect hunting grounds for the birds. "The owls have been seen flying around the stadium dur ing Aggie football games. They are just curious and want to know what all the noise is about. They will not hurt anyone." Owls are not likely to attack humans unless humans invade their nest sites. "The stadium is an ideal site for the owls' nests," Arnold says, because it offers the owls abundant food and good protec tion from predators. "It is not unusual for the birds to be there." 1 A squirrels-eye view Squirrels are a somewhat common sight at A&M. They can be seen almost anywhere on campus, hurrying, scurring, cluttering, sitting up with front paws in air and a mouth full of nuts, stopping with head cock ed to one side while watching students bustle off to class. Most of the squirrels seen around campus are so used to the people, and the daily activ ity, that they seem almost tame. It's not so unusual for one of the frisky little dudes to sit and stare at you while you walk just in ches away from him. Have you ever tried to see how close you could actually get before he shakes his tail and bounces off? Squirrels also are curious- Georges. Nothing escapes their scrutiny: checking out the cam pus lawns and trees seems to occupy a good deal of their time. And nothing is so big or so small that it passes unnoticed by the squirrel, not even a motorcycle.