Well, I am a fan of Molly The Owl on UStream. It all started with an owl box put up in a San Marcos, California side yard. The Carlos Royal family equipped the box with cameras that would feed into their livingroom tv. After two years of an empty box, when they had about given up, Molly the Owl, and her mate, McGee took up occupancy. Soon eggs were laid, brooded and hatched out into a healthy clutch of 4 baby owls. By then, there were many people all over the United States and foriegn nations watching Molly and McGee's unique activities. I became really hooked about the time the first little egg started peeping, and out flopped featherless Austin, just a tiny blob with a mouth. He was the first in a family of four .
Ustream.tv, whose web broadcast brought us this adventure, also supported two chat feeds for the viewing public. The Royals set down the rules for participation. The rules of the game were strict; no politics, no religion, no arguing or baiting one another. It was- and is- a family site. Nothing on there you wouldn't want your kids to see. Word of mouth spread the news of the broadcast fast, and soon the Royals had both inside and outside cameras for night and day. It was a 24 hour project for them.
Too soon, the owlettes had all fledged and not returned to the nest. Carlos and Donna Royal had announced they were closing the site. We all whined and were there for the final broadcast. But.... The very night of the closing, Molly returned and started singing her siren song to McGee. Before we knew it, there was another clutch of eggs and the game started all over again. Carlos and Donna postponed their much needed vacation to accomodate their viewers- who by now, included many new friends. Some of the folks were so addicted, to the whole thing, they started calling themselves owlholics- and MODs (still don't know what exactly that means). I think some of them watched 24 hours a day! At first I was a lurker; watching but not chatting. But soon I was signing in through Twitter and sharing in the fun.
It has been quite a ride, with picnics held both in San Marcos and around the country. There have been cyber attendees at several of them. Unfortunately, we missed the local gatherings, but if it continues next year, we will be sure to attend. Carlos and Donna Royal, who own the owl box and have broadcast to all of us for so long, have reaped both financial and personal rewards from this venture-- that began with a desire to allow Carlos' mother to view the box from her home. Last time I looked, there were almost 20 million- yes, million hits on the owl box site.
Carlos felt so strongly about the educational value of this venture, that he broadcast almost every weekday during the first clutch, to schools around the country. He took an hour out of his long day and talked directly to the children in a single classroom. We owl fans got to listen in. Part of the proceeds from his sale of all things Molly the Owl (at wordpress.com) go to conservation and community projects in San Marcos, Ca. Many of the observers have also put in a lot of time and effort to make this rewarding for the rest of us. Right now, each Friday night, two of the observers have arranged for replays of some of the best tapes. One, who had a candle shop in Poway, has set up a time consuming and complex site with all sorts of photos and owl related activities, including his own owl chat room. If you like birds, it is a good place to go.
But I think most of us Molly the Owl fans will agree that the social stream and chats resulting from this adventure have brought a lot of pleasure to all of us. Even Carlos and Donna Royal are hooked, and are sending updates from their Hawaiian vacation! The last post I saw was of Carlos on a paddle board having a grand time. It is the first and only online chat I have ever participated in, and it has been a good experience.
Molly the Owl also has a facebook site, a Molly Blog and other sites where you can view many very artistic photos of all the owls in their natural habitat. If you're bored and looking for something new, go take a look. You will also find great avian and animal site links at the owl box sites. Cornell University and the Audubon society both have cameras up and running- one at the Starr ranch in Orange county.
Every time I sit down to put something on this site, I never know what I will write about until I start. But since my heading is "Its a Good Day" I have tried to keep it easy to think about!
If you got up this morning, and your teeth were either in your mouth, or where you left them last night,
It's a Good Day!
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