An unexpected house guest stormed into the home of Erin and Steve Geiszler before dawn last month. And though the guest used the chimney to access the hilltop house, it wasn't an ill-timed Santa.
The surprise arrival was a Barn Owl, which awoke the Geiszlers before dawn on a Monday morning with a loud noise in the entryway of their home. They ran to see what the commotion was and spotted the Barn Owl flying around their home, frenetically darting from room to room.
Steve Geiszler, who was recently appointed to the Mill Valley Planning Commission, knew that Barn Owls find places to roost by hopping into holes, and this own likely hopped into the Geiszler’s chimney assuming it was a two or three foot hole. The bird then fell two stories, and was unable to open its wings in the narrow chimney, leaving it in an apparent state of fright.
“The area around the chimney was completely covered with ash," said Geiszler. "And there was a distinct pattern of the owl’s wing marked in the ash.”
Max Rodel, a longtime Mill Valley resident and bird expert, said that Barn Owls are extremely rare in Mill Valley, usually live in lofts or on rafters in barns, of which there aren’t many around here. Rodel said has seen the Western Screech Owl in Mill Valley and even the very rare Spotted Owl. "But I’ve never seen a Barn Owl here,” he said.
Geiszler said it was still quite dark outside but they had turned lights on inside the house when the owl arrived. They opened every door but the owl continued to fly around frantically. At one point the owl started flying directly toward a large glass window but, seemingly sensing trouble, pulled up just before hitting it.
The bird then tried to roost in some floral and plant arrangements on the Geiszler’s table. The arrangement broke under the bird’s weight. That's when Steve Geiszler acted fast, picking up a tablecloth and wrapping it around the owl in a firm hug.
“I grabbed the talons and held the wings in, and I could immediately feel it relax in my arms,” he said.
Geiszler walked the owl out of his front door and released it to fly away.
“It was about 18 inches tall with a wing-span of over four feet," he said. "It took off and there wasn’t a feather out of place. It was pretty magnificent.”
Link: http://millvalley.patch.com/articles/barn-owl-hops-down-chimney-into-mill-valley-home
