Unexpected Passengers

Ula Simonsen-Webb, California Polytechnic Humboldt

I woke up to sunlight streaming through the canvas of my tent at 7:30 am and various birds chirping in chorus together. This was a different wakeup than I am used to. Usually, I am woken by the abrupt sound of my alarm clock at 5:30 am, signaling it is time to prepare transect. I sat on my half-deflated sleeping mat that had been punctured by the thorns of an upright star burr. I was contemplating the fact that we were on spring break which indicates we are more than halfway through the semester. I am in pure disbelief at how fast this semester is going by. I gathered my belongings needed for the day and made the usual oats with peanut butter and sugar for breakfast. Our campsite was called Tree Island situated above an expansive salt pan in Makgadikgadi National Park. The pan had frequent visitors of hundreds of Zebra, which was such a beautiful and unique sighting. I greeted my colleagues as they one by one sauntered out of their tents and made their breakfast oats half asleep. The plan for the day was to drive to the Boteti River. Dom and Pedro informed us that the roads were a bit rough and sandy so the drive would be around three hours.

Helena and I had planned to ride in Mowana with SB. Adriane was also joining us; she was a student in Round River in 2022 so it was cool to hear her experience with the program. Helena and I gathered snacks we would need for the long drive and took them back to Mowana. Right as we opened the door to the car we saw that there was quite a bit of bird poop on the seats and floor mats. We thought it was weird but we did not think deeply into it, just enough to grab some wipes and clean it up. It was 7:30 am and finally time to depart camp and drive to the Boteti River. The other two cars; Motswani and Lucy headed out and we followed behind in Mowana creating a convoy. As we drove out of camp the sun was rising behind the clouds projecting an array of pink, red, orange, and yellow throughout the sky illuminating the salt pan. We made it about 200 meters down the road until something completely out of the ordinary
appeared. Helena was seated right behind me in the back seat. She calmly conveyed to us; “Something very soft brushed up against my leg, I think there is a bird in the car!” The only thing that I could think of was a small bird such as a starling could be in the car. Everyone was utterly confused about what was going on. Then, I looked down at my feet; there were HUGE talons. Looking at the size of the talons I could tell it was some type of raptor, but not sure what kind. Then I tilted my head down to see more clearly and saw that a Western Barn Owl was sitting in the car by my feet.

I used to work at a wildlife rehabilitation center in California. One of my jobs was to feed and care for the owls that were getting rehabilitated. So, when I saw that there was an owl by my feet I remained calm. I immediately alerted SB of the situation saying; “SB there is an owl by my feet!! SB there is an owl by my feet!!” SB looked at me in disbelief and responded with a big smile and a slight chuckle. He kept slowly driving the car past the other cars. I rolled down my window and told the news to everyone car by car; “there is an owl in the car!” I exclaimed. Everyone looked dumbfounded, having no idea what was going on.

After telling everyone the strange news, we stopped the car to sort out the situation. We all got out. Each person got the a chance to look at the Barn Owl up close. We initially had the thought of wrapping a thick piece of cloth around it to remove it from the car. Fortunately, within a minute time, the bird flew out of the car off into the sky. All of us just stood there for a while watching it fly off in pure disbelief. Then someone had the idea that we should check and make sure there was not another one seeking shelter in Mowana. We lifted the back seat and sure enough there was another barn owl.

This owl looked extremely drowsy and surprised as if we had just woken it up from a deep sleep and all it could see was tons of human eyes staring at it. Again, like the first visitor by my feet, we attempted to get it out with a thick piece of fabric but it quickly started to fly. This individuals exit was a messy one. It pooped all over Adriane.

We were all laughing so hysterically at this crazy encounter. No one had ever had such an interaction with an owl in their life. After the crazy sighting we got back into the cars. We noticed that the back window of Mowana was open. So we speculate that the owls were looking for food in the night. Therefore, they and found cozy shelter underneath the back seat. We continued on our drive to the Boteti River. None of us could believe what had happened. This is such a unique encounter that we will never forget.