The Journal of Agent

Gina Ginger Knickers

The Owls and the Pussycats

Chapter 1 - The Morepork and the Cape Eagle-Owl

Agent Gina Ginger Knickers reporting:

I just don't get it.

What's the big deal about owls?

Can someone please explain it to me 'cos I really don't understand it.

Grandpaw and Grandmeow have both been going on and on and on about the Morepork who lives in the trees outside their bedroom window here at Castle Deane.

And back home they have a Cape Eagle-Owl who lives in the rocky area behind their retirement village.

He comes to visit at night and sits on the fence.

Apparently, I remind them of him. What an insult!

What's so special about a bird that sleeps during the day and then at night it goes around making a noise and waking everyone up?

And the one that lives in our garden doesn't even go: hoooo hoooo!

Like owls are s'posed to.

It goes: more-pork... more-pork...

I kid you not!

Anyhoo... I'm not a fan, personally. Of owls.

Or any birds for that matter.

'Cos cats are just...

Better.

Way better.

So, this Morepork fella goes by lots of different names. He's also called a Ruru and a Mopoke and a Boobook...

All silly, in my opinion.

He's a smallish. brown, non-descript, nocturnal bird that lives in New Zealand's forests and he doesn't even have pretty ears like mine.

In Māori tradition, the Morepork is regarded as a watchful guardian belonging to the spirit world.

Now the Cape Eagle-Owl is quite a bit bigger, he lives in the mountainous or hilly area of South Africa where he roosts among the rocks. At least he has pretty ears, but he's still a dumb bird just like his little cousin over here. He eats mainly rats and lizards and critters like that but he's been known to kidnap a sleeping cat or small dogs.

And that's precisely why I don't like owls.

You just can't trust 'em!

And that's why me an' Purrdy an' Callie are hatching a plan.

We're going to get the rest of the cats involved and we're going to make sure the Morepork moves out.

We don't want him living in our garden - even if he isn't big enough or powerful enough to catch a cat.

He's still an owl and he can't be trusted.

So, this is where you come in. We need your help to achieve this.

'Cos we're all out of ideas how we're actually going to make it happen 'cos none of us are allowed outside.

Go on, join this story.

Create your own chapter and explain how you'd do it if you wanted to evict an owl.

The more creative, the better!