A Plastic Owl

Excerpt From A Darkness More Than Night

   On top of the cabinet was something McCaleb found curious. It was a two-foot high owl that looked to be hand painted. McCaleb had seen many of these before, especially in Avalon Harbor and Cabrillo Marina.  Most often the owls were made of hollow plastic and placed on top of masts or on the bridges of power boats in a usually unsuccessful attempt to scare gulls and other birds away from the boats. The theory was that the owl would be seen by the other birds as a predator and they would stay clear, thereby leaving the boats unfouled by their droppings.