Wednesday we found a tiny guest had joined our poultry in the barn. We have dubbed her Charlene although we have no idea if our guest is a he or a she.

Google has helped us determine she is a Northern Saw-Whet Owl. Although all the articles say they are hard to see and elusive, Charlene seems to be quite comfortable sitting on doors and ledges where we can easily spot her.

This tiny owl is much smaller than any of our chickens so I don’t believe she is a threat to the birds. She did roost with the turkeys on Thursday  and they were a little put off by her diminutive size. Since then she has moved back out to the common area and keeps an eye on our comings and goings. It’s funny to watch her crane and lean to peer around obstacles and watch us as we move through our chores.

This beautiful creature is free to leave at any time, but for as long as she chooses to hang out we will not try to encourage her to leave. She is completely silent, the dogs don’t seem to mind her being there, and we are thrilled to have some help with the obnoxious rodent population that is moving into the barn now that the outside temperatures are dropping.