Early birds may get the best worms-or at least the best garage sale deals-but they also tire out more quickly than night owls do.
Not many people want to be night owls.
I live in a rented room on the fifth floor; beneath my window the trams roll in the narrow street day and night, as if rattling headlong across my room; night-time, trams far away shriek like owls.
Over the years, everything from gas canons, pyrotechnics, lasers, ultrasound, stuffed owls and radio-controlled model aircraft have been tried to scare birds away from runways.
"We need to give them more time before we decide they do not work," said Oscar Pena, the Port District's general manager, who noted the owls, which cost about $40 apiece, only are supposed to scare 30 percent to 40 percent of the gulls that land nearby.
On land, creatures like lemmings, caribou, reindeer and snowy owls are being squeezed north into a narrower range.
In the hush of dark I share the cheerfulness of crickets and the confidence of owls.
