May 19, 2010
I bet there are a few of you reading right now, so I thought I’d post a couple of gratuitous screech owl photos from our owl box this evening.
He’s such a cutie!
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
What great owl pictures! We used to have a pair in the neighborhood years ago but they seem to have been displaced by suburbia. Did you have to do anything other than set out the owl box to entice them to use it?
Wait patiently. Seriously, we put up the box at Xmas in 2008, with a few handfuls of dry leaves inside the box as instructed by the website that showed my DH how to construct it. We had to wait a year (not very patiently, I’m afraid) to see an owl move in. I’m still a little impatient because I don’t believe we have a nesting pair, just a solitary roosting owl. I want to see owlets!
FYI, apparently screech owls do very well in suburbia so long as there is a tree canopy (they hunt in and below it) and they have snags (hollow trees) or boxes to nest in. —Pam
Hi there Pam… what fantastic images! I absolutely love them. Not gratuitous at all… please do share more when ever you like. I’m pretty sure I wont’ be the only one thrilled to see them. I’ve a feeling you’ll get a few stories in comments with this 😀
I fully understand your wait. I also understand completely you wanting to see owlets. Fingers crossed for you that you do. Is there time for a nest build this year? Owlets peeping out your box would be amazing to see… Congrats on the first stage 😀
Tawny owls are heard in our area. We occasional hear them call. This is our third year (not consecutive) with a (much more common) blue tit nesting in our nestbox that has a camera. I am looking at her in the corner of my monitor as I write this. Patience is required… from the female too! She is tucked up in a ball sleeping at the moment. Beneath her are six tiny eggs. She will incubate them for week at least. In previous years we have seen two nests with eight chicks hatch but sadly none survived. It is heart wrenching to watch. We have patiently waited to see a nest again and patiently wait to see chicks survive. I’d love to share the footage of a successful family in our nestbox 😀
Hi, Shirl. It’s good to hear from you. I’m not sure, but I suspect it’s a bit late for a nest build this year. We shall hope for next year, but until then we’re enjoying this little guy (or gal). It’s wonderful that you have a nest box with a camera to watch the blue tits. People do that here in Austin with the screech owls. —Pam
I really liked the photos – what a cutie! There is morning here in Poland and I finished my first coffee already.
Good morning, Ewa! —Pam
I love this!!! I lovelovelove owls and wish I could get some in my area….but unless it’s Harry Potter’s owl—it isnt going to happen. I live in England 😉
What, aren’t there owls in England? 🙂 —Pam
I must get a nesting box for owls. I love this!
You should try it, Darla. It’s quite fun to watch. —Pam
You bet he is a cutie. Look at those talons. They can be serious striking fear into the eyes of mice and voles.
Hey, I’ve had some trepidation myself looking into those eyes, wondering if it might swoop down on me. Most of the time though it just looks sleepy. —Pam
He is a cutie, especially with those Harry Potter eyes.
“As green as a fresh pickled toad”? Yes, I think they are. —Pam
I need to look for an owl box. I love this!
My DH, who built this one based on plans he found online, said they’re not hard to make, Melinda. —Pam
Fabulous photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Teri C. —Pam
I LOVE HIM!!! What great photos!!!
You totally need an owl box in your garden, Mamaholt. —Pam
Wonderful photos!!! I have a “thing” for owls, mostly exhibited by various owl-inspired decorative items in the house. I’d love to have the real thing outside. My husband and I heard what we think was an owl outside one night, but didn’t get to see it.
Do you call him Sammy?
You can post owl photos anytime Pam! They are amazing. So glad to read your update about having owlets too. That is VERY exciting. I was reading that flickers, kestrels and screech owls (oh and the very annoying starlings!) all use about the same size nestbox. I’m going to do a little further research and maybe my unused flicker box could be an owl box as well??