Owls now on patrol at Moss Landing restaurant

A Moss Landing restaurant is hoping a pair of wild barn owls will help control the area’s rodent population.

In December, an animal control company installed a nest box at the Haute Enchilada Cafe. Within weeks, a pair of barn owls moved in.

Restaurant owner Kim Solano named them Teco and Lotte, a play on “tecolote,” the Spanish word for owl. By late January, the female owl was sitting on eight eggs, which are expected to start hatching during the first week of February.

The move to natural rodent control was an easy choice for Solano, who is a strong advocate for sustainable environmental practices. Her cafe was the first in Monterey County to switch from plastic to paper straws.

The nest box was installed by Humane Wildlife Control, a company that specializes in humane solutions to wildlife problems.

On February 11, the restaurant will host a house warming and hatch party for the owls. The public is invited to enjoy light hors d’oeuvres, watch a live camera feed from inside the nest box, and learn how owls are used to control rodent populations.

The event will take place from 5-7 p.m. at the Haute Enchilada Cafe, 7902 Moss Landing Road in Moss Landing.

You can view a livestream of the owls in their nest box on YouTube. Click here.