A big âThank youâ to Andy Carolan for creating my seasonal owl avatar to take me through the holiday periodâ¦and maybe through the winter? This is my third owl avatar. Two by Andy and one by heyheymomo. Why owls? I lived in South Wales for just shy of two decades. While there I could hear owls calli... www.crossingthethreshold.net

@crossingthethreshold That's a great avatar! And how special to have those connections with owls. In Wellington I would often hear the Ruru (native owl) calling at night down the valley. I miss them here.

@Miraz How wonderful. I just looked up the Ruru.

@crossingthethreshold I saw on once, in the wild, during the day. I was on a walk up near Ruapehu, rounded a corner on the track and right in front of me was a Ruru on a branch. I couldn't figure out at first what I was looking at. I glanced away to get my phone out for a photo and when I looked back it had flown away, completely silently. A very special moment!

@Miraz What a wonderful story, and I love how they fly so quietly, something to do with feathers that they have on their wing tips, I believe.

The Tibetans refer to them as ”ghost carriers”, I think because of their silence?