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	<title>Three Star Owl - Functional and Sculptural Clay Artwork with a Natural History &#187; close in</title>
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	<link>http://threestarowl.com</link>
	<description>Three Star Owl clay studio</description>
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		<title>We call it &#8220;The Rock Lobster&#8221;&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:50:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10041</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;but it&#8217;s not from the bottom of the sea.  If you had a hard time with the centipede or the solpugid, you may wish to look away.  Or not&#8230;
This is one of my favorite desert arthropods ever, in kind of an oscillating horrified/fascinated can&#8217;t look away from photos of the train wreck kind of way.
It&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s like living with cats:</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:48:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9793</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;I assure you,&#8221; the solpugid says, &#8220;it&#8217;s good you are bigger than me.  Otherwise&#8230; well, I couldn&#8217;t account for my actions.&#8221;
(Photos A.Shock)
Here&#8217;s the whole creature, my hand for scale:
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Passing on the shnorr-gene</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoover, the semi-tame African Collared Dove who hangs out in our neighborhood, has been a bachelor for a while.  But earlier this summer, we observed him in the company of a female dove who appeared to be a smallish Eurasian Collared Dove, a naturalized old world species that has become very numerous across the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The night of the enormous centipede</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:07:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9317</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last big monsoon event brought rain and a spadefoot to our Phoenix area yard.  Tuesday night&#8217;s big monsoon event brought even more rain and a centipede.
This guy is a Scolopendra polymorphus, a Sonoran centipede, sometimes called a tiger centipede.  This one is about 4 inches long (they can grow up to about 7 [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Further fun with spadefoot</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:39:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9056</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Saturday night in our yard, a Couch&#8217;s spadefoot emerged after a substantial monsoon event, and used our swimming pool as his stage to advertise his availability to females, and sovereignty to other male spadefoots.  (See previous post.)

&#60;&#60; Spadefoot in the pool net, after exciting dawnzerlylight rescue orchestrated with dramatic Great horned owl background music (photo [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Good owls come in strange places</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:16:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I tell my non-birding friends that we saw quite a few owls in Costa Rica, many of them are surprised.  The common perception is that owls are indeed woodland creatures, but that&#8217;s &#8220;normal&#8221; woods &#8212;  not, you know, the &#8220;jungle.&#8221;  I suspect this monolithic concept of owls &#8212; where &#8220;owl&#8221; pretty much equals [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>in which I reveal my graphic petticoats along with an Orange-billed sparrow</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8555</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; or, saving shots by going artsy&#8230;
Not all photos are created equal, especially if you&#8217;re an amateur photog like me who asks my competent but limited point-and-shoot digital camera to do things it wasn&#8217;t meant to do, like capture images of cryptic birds high in trees with too many leaves against the light on an [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Break from the tropics</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:44:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8461</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, you guessed it, this is not a photo from the recent Costa Rica trip.  I thought a frosty retreat from the steamy tropics was in order, and decided to insert this flashback of a favorite photo and sighting from a 2004 trip to the Antarctica Peninsula: a Gentoo penguin parent about to feed [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hordes of hummers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:21:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Living in Arizona there&#8217;s no room for complaint about the quantity and loveliness of the hummers which visit our yard feeders.  In the Phoenix area we have Costa&#8217;s and Anna&#8217;s year round, Black-chinned in summer, with Broad-tailed and Rufous making migratory appearances. I&#8217;ve seen a brilliant Broad-billed just two miles from here at the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Boss in her office: &#8220;checking for lard&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:52:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[This is a Spot the Bird, although it's less of a quiz than a photo series. All photos A or E Shock.  Click to enlarge.]
Here are some feral date palms, growing wild at a substantial oasis in Death Valley, CA.  The date palm is Phoenix dactylifera (&#8220;finger-bearing&#8221;), but in this case we could call it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>An interim Spot the Bird&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:47:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8081</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;without a bird.  Not that there isn&#8217;t something to spot. And it is spotted.  Also, toes are pretty much always a giveaway. (Photo A.Shock; click to enlarge for easy viewing)
This is an &#8220;interim&#8221; Spot the Bird because about a third of our photos from our Mojave camping trip are locked onto a recalcitrant memory card.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rock-watching in the wind</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 29 May 2010 20:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
A few days ago, we drove far out into sage-covered lava rocks to check out some hot springs on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.  After walking to the top of the hill, walking around the next hill and between two other hills, seeing what birds were around and about, and while E [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mohave patch-nosed snake&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 02:19:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7900</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was a &#8220;life snake&#8221; for us, meaning we&#8217;d never seen one before we stopped to photo this graceful specimen crossing the road on the way to Titus Canyon on the east side of Death Valley.
The Mohave patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis) is a diurnal generalist, with good eyesight and quick reflexes; this one was sunning [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The lady and the pear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 02:12:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recent posts have been about lady bugs, and prickly pears.  Here&#8217;s one about both: a lady bug on an Opuntia blossom in the Mojave desert.  (Both photos A.Shock)

You can&#8217;t tell, but this particular prickly pear lives in a little piece of Nevada jammed between Arizona and California.  Its chief attraction is that it&#8217;s also stuffed [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ladybug heaven was&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 22:44:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7851</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;our aphid-infested herb garden.
Last week, we found a lady bug (AKA lady beetle, lady bird beetle) wandering around on the ground; we scooped her up and put her on a cilantro plant badly infested with aphids.  A few days later, the flower stalks of the plant were alive with the black-and-orange alligator-like larvae of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lichen with legs</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 15:28:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7827</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday was a rich day; with all sensory input oddly and schizophrenically split between very early and very late.  The day ended after midnight with a fun and funky evening at the CD drop party for the Groove Noodles, a friend&#8217;s band.  But it started before dawn in the outdoors, on Queen Creek and in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Two too-hot pear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 21:31:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7803</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Says me: few plants are more gratifying than prickly pear cactus, Opuntia spp.  At least, if you live in the desert, or any reasonably dry place.
Actually, even in not so dry places: we saw some naturalized in Aoteraroa (New Zealand), which seemed frankly bizarre, knowing how much rain that island gets (see the photo [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>And, speaking of owls&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7718</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; and we were &#8212; always &#8212; this Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) was giving us the eye from our big backyard pine tree, right at sunset tonight.  The Gila woodpeckers, doves, and local hummers &#8212; both Anna&#8217;s and Black-chinned &#8212; were really ticked off at the eminence tigre, and zoomed and hovered threateningly.  I&#8217;m [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Bird Spots You</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7691</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re not familiar with Gilded flickers (Colaptes chrysoides), they are large desert woodpeckers, closely associated with Saguaros.  They excavate their nest cavities in the trunks of the giant cactus.  They&#8217;re closely related to Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted flickers who inhabit the western and eastern U.S., respectively.  Flickers are flashy in coloration, being spotted and barred, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bendire&#8217;s thrasher in Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7660</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some things always amaze me.  One of them is why there are so many different Thrasher species in the arid Southwestern U.S.
Most of us who live in the Low Desert are used to two of the more common thrashers: the ubiquitous Northern mockingbird, its slender gray-and-white profile often seen  on high perches, singing its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Equal time: the Bird Spots YOU</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:21:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7598</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just to even things up, here&#8217;s what it feels like to be BIRD-WATCHED:
(Photo E.Shock)
This is &#8220;Hoover&#8221; the semi-tame wild African collared dove who inhabits our neighborhood, wondering why we don&#8217;t have a handful of peanuts NOW.
To indulge in a moment of natural history, notice how the eye is set in a slightly pinched or narrow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s the most bunnerful time of the year</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:17:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#60;&#60;  Two of these equals these. ↓
Desert cottontails abound in the yard right now.  The desert is green from the late winter rains, so there&#8217;s lots to eat.  Adult frolicking leads to tiny bunlets.  The two in the photo above on the right were stashed by mom in a shallow scrape right out in the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Wild mantid-loaf: imagine another surprise!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7369</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A praying mantis egg-case is not something you can easily find if you&#8217;re looking for one.  So, imagine our surprise &#8212; again! &#8212; when E  looked up at a random, leafy, and low branch of the big backyard mesquite, and said, &#8220;Hey, look!&#8221;  There was a tiny brown-loaf-looking mantid egg case, stuck to a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lil mantids, or: imagine our surprise</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:11:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We grow succulents at our house in containers, and some of them can&#8217;t take the heat of the low desert summers, while others can&#8217;t take the hardest frosts of winter. This results in a constant migration of plants inward and outward between the house and yard, depending on the season.  The indoor space the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>President&#8217;s Day: Hoover himself shows up</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:09:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7281</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Hoover&#8221; the semi-tame  African Collared Dove who inhabits our neighborhood came around for a handout of sunflower hearts and peanuts on Valentine&#8217;s Day.  It&#8217;s a bit of a sad story, in that he used to have a female companion, but no longer.  So far this spring he&#8217;s spent much of the day in plaintive calling [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Pipit! plus: gallery of international pipits (a bird with a view)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:54:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7012</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a small bird in this photo of lakeside rocks.  Can you spot the pipit?
Sunday E and I watched an American pipit (Anthus rubescens; photo E.Shock) working its way along water&#8217;s edge at Burnt Corral on Apache Lake east of Phoenix, darting after flies. beetles, larvae and other yummies around the cobbles in the shallow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Winging over to Willcox</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/winging-over-to-willcox</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/winging-over-to-willcox#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6909</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Three Star Owl is spending this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Willcox, AZ, for the annual Wings Over Willcox festival.  If you&#8217;re in the area, stop by the Willcox Community Center, and see what&#8217;s up.
(Detail of an oval vessel with a Sandhill Crane repoussé and carved in low relief, 10.5&#8243;, stoneware, A.Shock 2009)

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/winging-over-to-willcox/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bonus beetles</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bonus-beetles</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bonus-beetles#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:46:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6878</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are some boffo blue beetles.
I don&#8217;t know anything about them. We found them last year just below a cloud forest in southern Veracruz, Mexico, on the side of a road that crossed a re-grown lava flow. There were hundreds of them, congregating for reasons possible to guess at, but known only to themselves, in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bonus-beetles/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Picture of purples past</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:56:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6825</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the very week many Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds leave our yard.  I know this because I&#8217;m keeping track,  not out of obsessiveness, or possessiveness (well, maybe a little&#8230;), but because each winter I participate in the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology&#8217;s Project Feeder Watch.  Like Christmas bird counts, it&#8217;s a way for science to harness [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Got Gila Monster?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) are large stumpy lizards with bright handsome markings that are both cryptic and aposematic simultaneously, and whose hands look like neoprene wetsuit gloves with claws.  They are remarkable for being one of only two venomous lizard species in the world.  They live in the Sonoran and southern Great Basin Deserts and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We hear that 2010&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-hear-that-2010</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-hear-that-2010#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:16:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6756</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;will be a great ear.
Happy New Year!

 
(Photo of snoozing Fennec at Phoenix Zoo by E.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-hear-that-2010/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A close brush with a hunter</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:57:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Weeks out of &#8220;swim-season&#8221;, our pool is a bit dishevelled right now: a recent windstorm, a bit of a chemical imbalance, a bit of neglect, made it time to brush the pool.  It&#8217;s a task that in itself isn&#8217;t huge fun in cold weather &#8212; cold wet aluminum chills the paws fast! &#8212; but does [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Contemplate the young desert spiny lizard&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/contemplate-the-young-desert-spiny-lizard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/contemplate-the-young-desert-spiny-lizard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:59:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;as it basks in the late autumn sun at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. 
(Photo A.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/contemplate-the-young-desert-spiny-lizard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>This is not albino dog poop&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/this-is-not-albino-dog-poop</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/this-is-not-albino-dog-poop#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;it&#8217;s a coil of tube-slush that blurped out of the hose this morning &#8212; yes, ICE!  So, the frost-cloth and styrofoam cups are stratigically positioned, ready to be placed over newly-planted herbs, and on tender cactus-tips late this afternoon: tonight is supposed to be the first frost of winter.  The hummers are hitting the nectar [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/this-is-not-albino-dog-poop/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More coati moments</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/more-coati-moments</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/more-coati-moments#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:16:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6431</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Spotting coatis in Sabino canyon was fortunate in many ways.  Not only is it always amazing to see a coati, but it was artistically inspiring, too.  Before the Tucson visit I had already begun a small coati effigy bowl, so on returning home I was all fired up to finish it and start another bigger [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/more-coati-moments/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Still Lousy: Costa contra Costa</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6305</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The post-breeding influx of Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds in our Phoenix-area yard continues.  This tough little desert hummer is present at the feeders year round, but the population goes up noticeably between about June and December.  Most of the birds we see are males, some in fully developed adult plumage, some with scraggly purple moustaches just growing in.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hey, it&#8217;s a Wrentit!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:27:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6272</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Can&#8217;t resist posting this swell picture by E of a Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata), a veritable Dinky Dude not of the Desert, but of West Coast scrub and inland chaparral.
(left, Wrentit, photo E. Shock)
It may have subdued plumage, but how can anyone not like a skulking, big-headed, tiny bird with white eyes, who is the only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Redcaps and Redthroats: &#8217;shrooms and loons&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:07:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;on the northwest Oregon coast.
It&#8217;s not very much like the Sonoran Desert here. Everything&#8217;s either wet or damp, and when it rains it&#8217;s not a pounding monsoonal deluge that ends quickly, but a steady long-term soaking, which might last hours, days, or the rest of the year.  Things that live here are water-loving organisms, like [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Autumn newbies making the most of the gentle season</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/autumn-newbies-making-the-most-of-the-gentle-season</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/autumn-newbies-making-the-most-of-the-gentle-season#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:04:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently a neighbor came across the street to tell me in a concerned way that she had &#8220;had to&#8221; kill not just one but two non-venomous coachwhips in her yard out of fear for the safety of her pet, a feisty little terrier whom no self-respecting coachwhip would allow near enough for trouble.  So it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/autumn-newbies-making-the-most-of-the-gentle-season/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Late Night Arthropod: Vaejovis aglow</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/late-night-arthropod-vaejovis-aglow</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/late-night-arthropod-vaejovis-aglow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:15:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6075</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scorpions are not a thing at our house.  We don&#8217;t see them frequently, and as previously posted, they&#8217;re more likely to be encountered outside as victims of the swimming pool than inside the house.  But last night E liberated one from the front bathroom, and temporarily incarcerated it in a pint glass.
In the morning, I [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/late-night-arthropod-vaejovis-aglow/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Seriously Cereus</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/seriously-cereus</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/seriously-cereus#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:42:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6036</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The weather has cooled a bit, and even the succulents in the yard are perking up a little.  Here&#8217;s a shot of a luncheon-plate sized flower of a nocturnal, non-native Cereus aethiops columnar cactus, taken at dawn before it faded in the rays of the sun.
(Photo of Cereus aethiops blossom by A.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/seriously-cereus/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why it&#8217;s called a Ring-necked duck</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6014</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although the days are still hot here in the Phoenix area, there are signs that summer is sliding into fall: migrating Red-tailed hawks soaring over the park this morning, and over Papago Buttes a couple of accipiters (probably Cooper&#8217;s hawks) swirling through a cloud of White-throated swifts, hoping for a quick fistful of breakfast on [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The rare Scottsdale Aquatic scorpion?  afraid not&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/the-rare-scottsdale-aquatic-scorpion-afraid-not</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/the-rare-scottsdale-aquatic-scorpion-afraid-not#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:58:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6000</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This was weird, and sad for sure.
In previous posts, I&#8217;ve mentioned the unfortunate similarity of our swimming pool to the LaBrea Tarpits.  Especially in the summer months when there are lots of inexperienced young animals out and about, we often have to carry out water rescues.  Since my studio is at home and looks onto [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/the-rare-scottsdale-aquatic-scorpion-afraid-not/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Living with Pests, plus bonus barrel blossoms</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/living-with-pests-plus-bonus-barrel-blossoms</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/living-with-pests-plus-bonus-barrel-blossoms#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:52:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5969</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After our latest monsoon event, the yard was freshly rinsed and all dampy.  Everything was making the most of the moist: the succulents were sucking up water, the trees were drinking and dripping, and the whole world was washed in that most deserty perfume of creosote.
Also, the Cactus Longhorn Beetle came out.  Here is its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/living-with-pests-plus-bonus-barrel-blossoms/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The pulchritude of vulturitude, or&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:25:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5922</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;things are more colorful in the tropics.

Let&#8217;s unofficially extend International Vulture Awareness &#8220;Day&#8221; to &#8220;Weekend&#8221;, just so we can examine the glorious elegance that is the facial skin of the Lesser Yellow-Headed Vulture, a cousin of the widely distributed Turkey vulture that most of us Norte Americaños are familiar with.
You could argue that the King [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pleistocene megafauna revisited, and a couple of varieties of festoonage</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pleistocene-megafauna-revisited-and-a-couple-of-varieties-of-festoonage</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pleistocene-megafauna-revisited-and-a-couple-of-varieties-of-festoonage#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:17:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5862</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an earlier post, I recalled an uncomfortable encounter with a bison on Catalina Island.  For the past few days, we were in Yellowstone (no internet anywhere in the Park!), and our interactions with large mammals were definitely calmer and thankfully more removed.  Here is one, placidly grazing by a park roadside.  He&#8217;s been head-butting [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pleistocene-megafauna-revisited-and-a-couple-of-varieties-of-festoonage/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quite a Toadly Frog</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:48:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It looks a lot like a toad, with a stumpy physique and warty skin, but it&#8217;s a Canyon Tree Frog (Hyla arenicolor).  How to tell it&#8217;s a frog? One way: no parotoid glands &#8212; instead you can see the round flat areas of its tympani (hearing structures) behind and slightly below the eye. Also, this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tweaking Tiny Tins: making mini watercolor kits from mint boxes</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:24:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5026</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everybody in the world has posted their version of the Miniature Watercolor Box, usually ingeniously created from any flat metal tin, often Altoids, sometimes Velamints, or others (see here, here, and here, just for a few examples of many).  These projects are all well-described and illustrated. I hereby add my version, but will only add [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cnemie-philia</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:09:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5645</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, that&#8217;s &#8220;Cnemie-philia&#8221; &#8212; the love of lizards in the genus Cnemidophorus, now more properly called by their current genus name, Aspidoscelis, or Whiptails.  Our locals are Sonoran tiger whiptails (Aspidoscelis tigris punctilinealis), and they&#8217;re the most commonly seen lizard in our Phoenix area yard.  They like it hot and are out and about during [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Screen-gecko-eat-moth</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/screen-gecko-eat-moth</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/screen-gecko-eat-moth#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:38:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5631</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Working nocturnally in the studio gives observation opportunities not available during the sunny daylight hours.  Geckos (the non-native Euro-variety) march up and down the raccoon-ravaged screens stalking moths larger than their heads.  Here&#8217;s a picture of the ventral surface of one with a successful catch, all swallowed but for the wings, the reflection of my [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/screen-gecko-eat-moth/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lousy with Costa&#8217;s</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When the Gophersnake made its appearance, I was about to post on Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds, because &#8220;informal censusing&#8221; (= what we see in the yard) indicates that this is the season when the Costa&#8217;s hummer population is highest in our Phoenix area yard: we are lousy with Costa&#8217;s right now.
I would guess it has something to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A favorite slinky neighbor&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5235</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was patrolling our yard yesterday, an overcast Thursday morning.
I was working in the studio and noticed yard birds scolding harshly.  But my brain was busy with clay, and it only spared enough attention to ID the calls &#8212; cactus wren, verdin, curve-billed thrasher &#8212; and forgot to be curious about what was setting them off.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A new batch of &#8220;Songbird&#8221; mugs is underway</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:40:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4554</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m now in heavy production mode for the upcoming Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in southeastern Arizona (see Events for details).  Some of the objects I&#8217;m making in small batches are smooth-surfaced mugs for glazing bird portraits on.  Flat-bottomed, hand-built (as opposed to wheel-thrown), and intended for daily use, these mugs have proven popular [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Desert Dove-o-rama: White-winged doves</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5098</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Arriving in the spring, they lurk like vultures for weeks on the crowns of blooming saguaros, waiting for the flowers to swell into fat green fruits.  When they do, the White winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) rip them open with their strong fruit-ripping beaks, exposing the sweet red fruit and feasting greedily.  Sometimes several doves will [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Festival of Desert Doves: the Other Collared Dove</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:08:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5015</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has an agenda well-befitting a Columbid: &#8220;Must Colonize New World.&#8221; 
Actually, it started before that, and a lot farther east: a native of central Asia, the Collared Dove had populated Europe as far west as Great Britain by the 1950s.  By the early &#8217;80s, a population had taken hold [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Hoodia Stinketh</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/my-hoodia-stinketh</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/my-hoodia-stinketh#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:02:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4970</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For a few days I&#8217;ve been whiffing a whiff, which has caused me to search for the dead mouse in my studio.
Then, I noticed the Hoodia is blooming.  It sits on the shelves right outside the work tables.  That window is always open, being the draw-source for the swamp cooler air.  So the stinkitude of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/my-hoodia-stinketh/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Festival of Desert Doves: African Collared Dove</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:47:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4953</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The desert suburbs of Phoenix are Columbid-rich, that is, there are many species of doves and pigeons.  Yesterday I was putting out seed in a neighbor&#8217;s gravel drive just before sunset.  The area is quite open, and at that time of day it fills with fat, free-loading doves and pigeons who are used to being [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gamboling Gambel&#8217;s Quailets</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2009 04:09:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In our area, the first Gambel&#8217;s quail chicks of the year usually start showing up in early May,  clustered around their parents under the mesquite trees in the yard, pecking expertly at the ground like the precocial youngsters they are.  This year, since we weren&#8217;t around then, we missed the &#8220;nebula phase&#8221; of their [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>So what about the Hen?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 19:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4544</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You may be wondering about the much-posted Hen, a female Anna&#8217;s hummingbird, and her two nestlings, who were busy growing up in an Aleppo Pine in our back yard.
As far as we know, the Hen fledged her young successfully while we were in New Zealand. We&#8217;ll never know for sure, but the evidence supports a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tubenoses, Albatross Elbows and Muttonbirds</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 03:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One thing the Southern Hemisphere does well is sea birds.  Albatrosses, gannets, penguins, prions, storm petrels, diving petrels, gadfly petrels, giant petrels, shearwaters, skuas, mollymawks, and more occur in baffling numbers of species (and nomenclature).  Normally, many of these birds are found well out to sea, over the deepwater pelagic zones.  But in tectonically active [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Walkingstick sequel: in case anyone was wondering&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/walkingstick-sequel-in-case-anyone-was-wondering</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/walkingstick-sequel-in-case-anyone-was-wondering#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2009 09:55:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4241</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;how the photo E was taking turned out (from this post), here it is.  Now you know what the ventral surface of a NZ walking stick looks like.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/walkingstick-sequel-in-case-anyone-was-wondering/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Piwakawaka and other obliging Non-Kiwi Kiwis</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/piwakawaka-and-other-obliging-non-kiwi-kiwis</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/piwakawaka-and-other-obliging-non-kiwi-kiwis#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2009 05:44:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4227</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Proper Kiwi birds are nearly impossible to take photos of.  Mainly because most kiwi birds are nocturnal and using flash is rude, but also because they&#8217;re hard to see in their environment, rummaging around in the deep ferny forest floor.  And anyway they&#8217;re terribly difficult to find at all.
But there are other, non-Kiwi birds who [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/piwakawaka-and-other-obliging-non-kiwi-kiwis/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Large, colorful, flightless, and clueless&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/large-colorful-flightless-and-clueless</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/large-colorful-flightless-and-clueless#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 08:51:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4204</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;that&#8217;s the Takahe, a mountain-dwelling, tussock-eating, big-beaked member of the gallinule family (related to coots).  The bird was believed by ornithologists to be extinct, until G.B. Orbell &#8220;rediscovered&#8221; a population in the remote Murchison mountains of Fjordland New Zealand in 1948.  Since then heroic efforts have been made to secure its survival as a species, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/large-colorful-flightless-and-clueless/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>When hiking New Zealand, always have a walking stick along</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/when-hiking-new-zealand-always-have-a-walking-stick-along</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/when-hiking-new-zealand-always-have-a-walking-stick-along#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 08:38:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is E, making a new friend in the Kauri Forest.  It may be big and green, but at least it doesn&#8217;t bite, like the Sand flies.
(Photo A. Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/when-hiking-new-zealand-always-have-a-walking-stick-along/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Weazealand</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/weazealand</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/weazealand#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:30:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4192</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Weasels and stoats are not welcome in New Zealand, although they live there.  But they&#8217;re not native, and as opportunistic and energetic predators they&#8217;re particularly dangerous for the few remaining species of indigenous birds, many of which are ground-nesters, having evolved on an island on which there are no native species of mammal except bats, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/weazealand/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Easter Nidification: Stalwart Hen update</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/easter-nidification-stalwart-hen-update</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/easter-nidification-stalwart-hen-update#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:32:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4107</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hen update with photo. The Stalwart Hen and her Nidlings (the Anna&#8217;s hummingbird and her nestlings in our backyard pinetree) are still hanging in there, despite a night of unseasonal wind and cool rain.  In this photo, the bottom side of the tip of one of the nidling&#8217;s beaks is just visible at the left [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/easter-nidification-stalwart-hen-update/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Half-Dome Head: the Geology of Owl Crania</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/half-dome-head-the-geology-of-owl-crania</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/half-dome-head-the-geology-of-owl-crania#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:28:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cranky owlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3925</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a property of owls I call &#8220;Half-Dome Head.&#8221;  It&#8217;s a shape that&#8217;s noticeable in the profile of all owls, particularly the larger ones.  The Barred Owl to the right is exhibiting major Half-Dome Head.  If Half-Dome Head can be achieved when making owls in clay, the resulting effigies will be Especially Owly.
The name derives [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/half-dome-head-the-geology-of-owl-crania/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification: Cloacal dexterity is next to godliness</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/nidification-cloacal-dexterity-is-next-to-godliness</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/nidification-cloacal-dexterity-is-next-to-godliness#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:44:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3998</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
The Anna&#8217;s Hummingbird Hen&#8217;s behavior has mystified me for the last few days.  What I see when the Hen is gone: an empty nest, no nestling activity (after that first exciting view).  Then when the Hen returns, she immediately sits tight; no feeding.  Wouldn&#8217;t you expect her to return and feed nestlings, if there were [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/nidification-cloacal-dexterity-is-next-to-godliness/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Curious Case of the Corpse in the Yucca</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-curious-case-of-the-corpse-in-the-yucca</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-curious-case-of-the-corpse-in-the-yucca#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:08:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3848</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cactus wrens are a large (for a wren), lively, and common presence all over the low-elevation deserts in the American Southwest.  The photo to left left shows one sitting on a cholla branch.  They do that a lot, often while making all sorts of  mechanical-sounding vocalizations like drbrdrbrdrbrdrr or krakrakrakrakrakra.  Cactus wrens are expert at [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-curious-case-of-the-corpse-in-the-yucca/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification &#8212; Nestling is happening!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-nestling-is-happening</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-nestling-is-happening#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:16:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3793</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s confirmed &#8212; the Hen&#8217;s egg(s) has/ve hatched!
This afternoon (Thursday April 2) just after one pm, I was finally able to catch the Hen away from the Nid &#8212; she&#8217;d been sitting tighter than usual this morning &#8212; and could look down on the nest from the upper window.  The first discovery was that the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-nestling-is-happening/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification: Is that or isn&#8217;t that&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-is-that-or-isnt-that</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-is-that-or-isnt-that#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:36:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3783</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;a little pointy beak?
Here is this morning&#8217;s photo of the Anna&#8217;s hummingbird Hen on her Nid.  I began looking very carefully for evidence of nestlings yesterday, April 1, since that was my estimate of the earliest her eggs might hatch.  This morning, I checked first thing, and still didn&#8217;t see any sign of young birds.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-is-that-or-isnt-that/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cranky Owlet finally meets&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/cranky-owlet-finally-meets</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/cranky-owlet-finally-meets#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cranky owlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3368</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;a true kindred spirit:

Adult Burrowing owl giving the entire world StinkEye at the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center display at Boyce Thompson Arboretum&#8217;s &#8220;Welcome Back Buzzards Day&#8221;. (Photo A.Shock)

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/cranky-owlet-finally-meets/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Costa&#8217;s hummers at Boyce Thompson Arboretum</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/costas-hummers-at-boyce-thompson-arboretum</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/costas-hummers-at-boyce-thompson-arboretum#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of my favorite places to go in the Phoenix area at any time of year (except perhaps in the heat of summer) is the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  It&#8217;s a botanical garden of  native and non-native desert plants up in the desert mountains around Superior Arizona about an hour&#8217;s drive east of Phoenix.  It&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/costas-hummers-at-boyce-thompson-arboretum/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twofer: Nictitating membrane AND bonus Bonus Pervious Nostril</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:47:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3378</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are a couple of photos that show two excellent see-through specializations of Turkey vulturedom: the pervious nostril (already discussed here) and an inner protective eyelid called the nictitating membrane. The camera caught the vulture in mid-blink, so the membrane is visible in this photo as a bluish milky cast over the eye of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Double nidification feature: more Dinky Desert Dudes, plus bonus Hen photo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/double-nidification-feature-more-dinky-desert-dudes-plus-bonus-hen-photo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/double-nidification-feature-more-dinky-desert-dudes-plus-bonus-hen-photo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:51:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not much larger than the Verdin is another small gray bird of the Sonoran Desert, the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.  A tiny, long-tailed, streamlined bird with a narrow gleaning bill, both sexes sport cool gray plumage, and in breeding season the male has a full black cap.  They actively forage for insects in desert vegetation, and are [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/double-nidification-feature-more-dinky-desert-dudes-plus-bonus-hen-photo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification: the Hen sits tight for sure</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-sits-tight-for-sure</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-sits-tight-for-sure#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:56:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3220</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is the Hen today, sitting tight on her tiny cup nest built on two pine cones in our backyard Aleppo Pine.  She fills the whole opening like a cork, horizontally oriented.  Usually we see hummers either air-born or perched, in vertical orientation: it&#8217;s the horizontal arrangement, with her tail sticking out behind her and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-sits-tight-for-sure/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification &#8212; Hen still constructing</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-hen-still-constructing</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-hen-still-constructing#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:23:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3132</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Much building activity: as of today the Anna&#8217;s hummingbird hen in our Aleppo pine is still finessing her nid.  This morning, she could be seen bustling and fussing at the site (yes, I anthropomorphize, get over it please, I&#8217;m not an ornithologist!), making frequent trips away and to, coming back with light-colored fibers, some of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-hen-still-constructing/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nidification: the Hen is On!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-is-on</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-is-on#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3059</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Anna&#8217;s hummingbird hen is on the nest! This morning I saw her bringing small beakfuls of fluffy white material like spider web or some kind of aerial seeds and adding them. She would then settle in the cup of the nest, and wiggle a little, as if to get the shape perfect, and run [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/nidification-the-hen-is-on/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list &#8212; FOS Black-chinned hummingbird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-fos-black-chinned-hummingbird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-fos-black-chinned-hummingbird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3038</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today I saw the First-of-Season Black-chinned hummingbird for our yard at the back door feeder.  It was a male, as the first birds always are.  He whirred in and made his characteristic little &#8220;chup-chup&#8221; feeding noise, pumping his longish tail and being generally tidy and well-defined in his gorget feathers, without moustaches.  Black-chinneds typically have [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-fos-black-chinned-hummingbird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>One last Sarcoramphus peek&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/one-last-sarcoramphus-peek</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/one-last-sarcoramphus-peek#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2904</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;just because this photo of Jack&#8217;s King vulture waiting to be taken home makes me laugh.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/one-last-sarcoramphus-peek/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Scoter addendum &#8212; the Arizona angle</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:58:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the last post on scoters, I forgot to add that there is a surprising Arizona angle to these sea ducks. Some years, one or two are found wintering or in transition on desert lakes around and about the state.  They are categorized as &#8220;casual&#8221; here.  This winter (Dec. &#8216;08), there was a handful of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bonus pervious nostril!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/bonus-pervious-nostril</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/bonus-pervious-nostril#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:51:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2841</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been working hard on pieces for the San Diego Audubon Birding Festival, which is coming right up.  While glazing a wall tile with the portrait of a male Surf scoter and looking at photo resources of scoters, I realized I was being treated to another pervious nostril!
It doesn&#8217;t show so much in this photo, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/bonus-pervious-nostril/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list: Dinky Dudes of the Desert</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2736</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I left the Mississippi River Valley to come back to the West, I thought, Hmmmmm, no chickadees in the low desert.  What&#8217;s that going to be like?
We were very accustomed to Carolina chickadees as ever-present &#8220;fee-bay-fee-bee&#8221;-ers in our St. Louis yard.  They accompanied us on hikes; we heard them in the parks, they were [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>P.S. &#8212; Cardinals do not have yellow bills</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/ps-cardinals-do-not-have-yellow-bills</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/ps-cardinals-do-not-have-yellow-bills#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:36:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a red subject for Valentine&#8217;s Weekend:
In Phoenix there are cardinals.
Everybody knows the football Cardinals, aka &#8220;the Redbirds&#8221;, who  nearly won the Superbowl recently.  But fewer people, even native Arizonans, know that we also have real Northern cardinals, (Cardinalis cardinalis), aka cardenal comun.  You can&#8217;t imagine how surprised some people are when they find out [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/ps-cardinals-do-not-have-yellow-bills/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The pervious nostril: why vultures don&#8217;t need kleenex</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:27:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2206</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An excellent feature of Turkey vultures is see-through nostrils.  That is, they lack a septum, so the opening to their sinuses goes straight through the top of their beak. This is handy for an organism which eats its meals with its head in the liquescent innards of dead things. With just a quick sneeze, any [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the Vulture</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:15:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1959</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A vulture blew up in a bisque kiln yesterday.  Dang!  And it was my own fault, too, a foolish, neophyte error: its body was hollow, and I forgot to make a hole in it for the hot air inside to escape, kerPOW.  The carnage is visible, right.  Fortunately, nothing else in the kiln was harmed.
Vultures [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pitching a Pleistocene Fit: when relict megafauna acts up</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pitching-a-pleistocene-fit-when-relict-megafauna-acts-up</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pitching-a-pleistocene-fit-when-relict-megafauna-acts-up#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:48:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The last post was about really big mammals that seem on a scale with mammoths, condors, and whales.  That&#8217;s the thing about the Western US, you can never be sure when you&#8217;re going to run into some immense mammal, left over from the Ice Age:
E does field work in Yellowstone, so I have an acquaintance [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/pitching-a-pleistocene-fit-when-relict-megafauna-acts-up/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Elephant seals of the New Year, but not Año Nuevo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/elephant-seals-of-the-new-year-but-not-ano-nuevo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/elephant-seals-of-the-new-year-but-not-ano-nuevo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:17:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1841</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After the family Christmas gathering, E the M and I made our way down the California coast towards the M&#8217;s house.  Every few years we find ourselves doing this, stopping sometimes in Santa Cruz, sometimes Big Sur or Davenport, but more than once in Cambria.  The twee shops in the village don&#8217;t draw us as [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/elephant-seals-of-the-new-year-but-not-ano-nuevo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.elephantseal.org/sounds/02-alpha.mp3" length="392462" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>There&#8217;s another one, too</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/theres-another-one-too</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/theres-another-one-too#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:03:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the cats]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1673</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[And here she is: meet Miss B.
Sorry, that&#8217;s all you get.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/theres-another-one-too/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Close in &#8212; tiny mud pot forms on wall</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[archaeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1544</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every once in a while, I find a clay pot &#8212; a tiny, perfect clay pot &#8212; on the wall of the house.  They look like little half-buried Mediterranean amphorae, without handles, with a narrow neck and a flared rim, the entire thing only half an inch across.  But they have no openings: like the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Botanical horrors: when grass grows bad</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/botanical-horrors-when-grass-grows-bad</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/botanical-horrors-when-grass-grows-bad#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:02:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1525</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is a photo of a lovely Red barrel cactus in Miss Thang&#8217;s garden.
The barrel is happy where it is, and is growing quickly and healthily.  Unfortunately, we&#8217;ve had a Bermuda Grass invasion nearby, and despite E&#8217;s manual, non-toxic efforts to control the grass, it&#8217;s spread up to the Red Barrel.  It was bad enough [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/botanical-horrors-when-grass-grows-bad/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list &#8212; Miss Thang</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:23:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1345</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet Miss Thang.  She is a female Costa&#8217;s hummingbird (Calypte costae), and unlike her purple-mustachioed male counterpart, she&#8217;s a plain green-gray above, and a plain gray-white below, with a chunky round body, almost no tail, and no neck at all.  She holds territory right outside our front door, as Queen of the Desert Garden.  The [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list &#8212; Gray fox</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:33:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Saturday morning while walking through our neighborhood to the Park, E and I saw one of the local Gray Foxes. We didn&#8217;t have a camera!  Too bad; it posed obligingly and let us admire it for quite a while: a beautiful, delicate zorro with a most magnificent tail.  It looked just like this:

Desert Gray [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fierce-footed Cooper&#8217;s Hawk &#8212; Yard list</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1158</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of mornings ago, we saw our first Cooper&#8217;s hawk of the season, swooping nimbly around the big backyard mesquite in an unsuccessful attempt at snagging a dove or finch from the feeders under the tree.  It lit on the utility pole in the alley and, having an itchy face, primly scratched itself [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>HAPPY HALLOWEEN!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1148</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This is a Spectacled Owl from the recent Veracruz trip.  Spectacled owls are boldly patterned, unsociable owls of tropical forests of Central and South America.  This one flew silently in to check us out from its perch high in the canopy, and suffered to have its photo snapped illuminated only by a flashlight, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Pulsatrix-perspicillata-1.mp3" length="102817" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Genuine Glow-in-the-dark Kitty</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/genuine-glow-in-the-dark-kitty</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/genuine-glow-in-the-dark-kitty#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the cats]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My recent post about our vet-irradiated cat Hector Half-Squid contained a visual joke about being able to find him in the dark, by showing a picture of his normal feline eye-shine generated by a camera flash.  But there&#8217;s a real glow-in-the-dark kitty in the news: Mr. Green Genes. Here&#8217;s a picture of Mr. Green [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/genuine-glow-in-the-dark-kitty/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hector Half-Life the Atomic Catboy</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/hector-half-life-the-atomic-catboy</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/hector-half-life-the-atomic-catboy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:49:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the cats]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=979</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is our black and white kitty, Hector Half-Squid. A while back the vet discovered he had a benign thyroid tumor which was making him thinner and thinner.  We chose to treat it with medicine you swipe in his ear, he chose to develop a strong allergic reaction to the medicine.  (Have you [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/close-in/hector-half-life-the-atomic-catboy/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New things in the yard and in the season: Canyon wren!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-things-in-the-yard-and-in-the-season-canyon-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-things-in-the-yard-and-in-the-season-canyon-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:49:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=955</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are wrens in our desert world.  Big, raucous, busy Cactus wrens are always here. And there are wrens that pass through: eye-browed and long-tailed Bewick&#8217;s wrens in spring and fall; a Rock wren usually comes around a few times in the winter, and even a House wren once, on its way to its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-things-in-the-yard-and-in-the-season-canyon-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list: Desert Iguana, spotted</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:29:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=896</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The first day of autumn has been a red letter day in our yard.  Not only was there a Western screech owl calling last night &#8212; a new species for the yard, as far as my observations go &#8212; but this afternoon, in the heat of the day, a young Desert iguana raced under [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Autumnal Owlinox &#8212; new season, new yard bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/happy-owly-autumn-new-yard-bird-heard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/happy-owly-autumn-new-yard-bird-heard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:27:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=847</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night was a busy night in the yard.  Well, I suppose they&#8217;re all busy nights, but last night I was awake to appreciate it.  Before human bedtime, the geckos were at their posts under the porch lights (our yard residents are the non-native Mediterranean Geckos, not the indigenous Western Banded, but they&#8217;re [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/happy-owly-autumn-new-yard-bird-heard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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