Woodsy the Gopher Killer

“Give a hoot – Don’t pollute
Never be a dirty bird.
In the city or in the woods,
Help keep America
Looking good.”

Woodsy Owl

The Woodsy Owl PSA (Public Service Announcement) was developed by the Forest Service and ran on TVs across the nation in the early ‘70s.  I guess it worked because as a small child I was mesmerized.  O.K., the Woodsy PSA may not have been quite as flashy as the egg (brain) in the frying pan or the Native American guy with the tear but its simplicity was its very genius.  After all, who can resist a singing owl?

In my childhood innocence, little did I know that my hero Woodsy was actually a merciless killer.

The Barn Owl is one of the most skilled hunters of rodents in North America.  The design of its wings renders it almost silent in flight and its “satellite dish” face helps pick up the faintest leaf rustle or mouse peep from hundreds of feet away, enabling it to hunt in total darkness. These features make the Barn Owl a gopher’s worst nightmare. Owls are voracious predators of gophers, which kill grapevines and can cause erosion problems in the vineyard.  While an adult may eat one or two gophers a night, each chick may eat from two to five.  That’s a lot of gophers over time.  And that’s one big reason we welcome Barn Owls to the Michel-Schlumberger estate with nesting boxes and tall hunting perches.  And just as we allow the Ladybugs and Lacewings to take care of our insect pests, we happily encourage the Barn Owl to deal with this pesky rodent.  Just how many gophers do our resident “flying cats” consume in our vineyard in a year?   Well, lets crunch the gopher numbers:

2 Adult Barn Owls x 5 Nest Boxes = 10 Barn Owls
3 Owlets survive per box x 10 nest Boxes = 30 Owlets
————————————————————
40 (Total Owls) x 365 Days (Consume 1 Gopher a day) =
14,600  Total Gophers killed per year
————————————————————
14,600 (Gophers killed per year) x 0.34 pounds (Average weight per Gopher) =  5,017 pounds or 2.5 tons of Gophers per year!!!

They may seem to be eating well but owls need help.  Although the Barn Owl is one of the most widely distributed birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica, they are now considered rare in many states, and are listed as endangered in others. A major factor is the loss of adequate nesting sites due to urbanization and agriculture development.  But small farms such as ours are an owl’s dream – plenty of nesting sites, perches and, of course, gophers.  I think Woodsy would be very proud.

Tony

P.S.  Fun Fact: Barn owls do not hoot. Their call is an unmistakable and very loud hiss, somewhere between the sound of leaking gas and a jet on takeoff.  Hear it for yourself:

http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Tyto-alba-3.mp3

P.P.S.  For a bit of a blast from the past, check out the original 1970 Woodsy PSA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zpz1k5Mv4o

Tagged as: Dry Creek Valley Wines, organic farming, Organic Vineyards, organic viticulture, Sonoma County Wines, Woodsy Owl