The screech owls are now 3-4 weeks old. They are being raised with the least amount of human contact possible, once their eyes open, because they will imprint on the first critter they see (hopefully another owl) and identify with that image forever. These owls are now about 4 inches tall and are able to eat whole mice purchased already dead and frozen in neat little packages from a commercial rodent farm. My friend Ronnie James has federal and state licenses to raise rescued birds and other small animals. Her non-profit organization is called Woodlands Wildlife and she is always in need of donations to help feed wild baby animals. You can donate to this worthy cause by sending a check to Woodlands Wildlife, P.O. Box 1336, Mendocino, CA 95460. Ronnie and the owls thank you!

Baby Screech Owl orphans 7-10 days old

We interrupt Fox News to bring you...baby screech owls! My friend Ronnie James, founder and director of Woodlands Wildlife, holds numerous state and federal licenses to rescue and care for orphaned or injured birds. These baby screech owls were brought to her one spring. They are 7-10 days old and, as young birds, their eyes are closed and they are blind. Their nest tree was cut during illegal forest clearing done for an equally illegal “agricultural” project.  The babies could have been returned to their parents by putting up a nest box high on a tree, and their parents would have happily continued to raise them, but the entire site was an ecological disaster with heavy equipment rolling around removing all the trees and shelter. Woodlands Wildlife kept them in an incubator for a few days and every hour they dined on mealworms and fillet of mouse sprinkled with vitamins. To order a wonderful book from Woodlands Wildlife, full of stories of the animals Ronnie helped over 25 years, go to www.TouchingWings.org

More Fox News: This is week five of the little foxes out of their den, it's the third week of April and all photos are taken through my kitchen window. I am meticulous about making sure I am not seen. This time, one little guy did spot me, so I began to darken all windows before photographing through the one, so my silhouette wouldn't show.

Young Foxes at Play

Two of the litter of five gray foxes, Northern California

I am so curious about the foxes' activities. There are long periods during the day when I hear nothing. The young are way too small to hunt with her, but they are so quiet that I think she has carried them off to a new den. Only when she is around are they noisy, like right now. Still, no male to be seen. How does she hunt and make sure her pups are safe? What a responsibility!

I love octopuses. At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I've stood transfixed by their octopus's grace and perfect ease with the water and rock environment. Octopuses are among the most intelligent of invertebrates (animals without backbones). All animals are intelligent, Plants too, but when I recognize something that matches a quality of human intelligence, I feel especially connected. The octopus can play, problem solve, learn, remember, and communicate. Their intelligence can be likened to that of dogs and cats. This video shows you their amazing ability to camouflage. --> http://www.sciencefriday.com/video/08/05/2011/where-s-the-octopus.html

This is the reason I create interpretive panels. I recently completed an interpretive panel for the Guckenberg-Strum Preserve, owned by the Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust.

People have been sending me wonderful items about foxes and other animals. Here is a funny story about a red fox in Germany. Notice how different this fox looks compared to our gray fox.

Reuters – A fox looks for food along the edge of a farmer's field in a file photo. REUTERS/Andy Clark
Fri Jun 12, 10:39 am ET
BERLIN (Reuters) – A fox has been unmasked as the mystery thief of more than 100 shoes in the small western German town of Foehren, authorities said Friday. A forest worker stumbled upon shoes strewn near the fox's den and found a trove of footwear down the hole that had recently been stolen overnight from outside locals' front doors. "There was everything from ladies' shoes to trainers," said a local police spokesman. "We've found between 110 and 120 so far. It seems a vixen stole them for her cubs to play with." Although many were missing laces, the shoes were in good condition and their owners were delighted to reclaim them, he said, adding that no reprisals were planned against the culprit. (Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Philippa Fletcher)