Daily News Archive 2003

May 4 - The owlet grows more active, and slowly creeps further into the entryway each day, but hasn't been willing to take the big step out of the nest. The parents, for their part, still seem to be willing to deliver plenty of food to the nest, so they don't appear anxious to convert their nestling into a brancher.

CDTTemp.Description
12:06 AM76 F Male delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet
12:57 AM75 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
1:42 AM74 F Male delivers a cricket, but the owlet won't take it
2:09 AM74 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet
2:12 AM74 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
3:34 AM74 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 12 minutes
4:13 AM74 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
4:30 AM74 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
4:33 AM74 F Male delivers a small gecko to the owlet, but the owlet can't be persuaded to accept it. The male exits with the lizard.
4:42 AM74 F Owlet spends 73 minutes in the entryway
6:04 AM74 F Owlet goes to the entryway to take delivery of a gecko
6:41 AM74 F Sunrise
7:09 AM74 F Owlet spends 11 minutes on perch, then 1 at the entryway
7:31 AM74 F Owlet spends 5 minutes in entryway
9:35 AM74 F Owlet spends 12 minutes in entryway
morning74-76 F The owlet is very active. It's no longer worth recording all of his ventures to the perch.
4:05 PM84 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 5 minutes
4:34 PM85 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 6 minutes
4:41 PM85 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 1 minute
4:46 PM84 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 1 minute
7:56 PM83 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 34 minutes
afternoon76-85 F
8:10 PM83 F Sunset
8:31 PM83 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 1 minute
8:32 PM83 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
8:33 PM83 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
8:37 PM83 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
8:38 PM83 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 5 minutes
8:53 PM83 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 6 minutes
8:59 PM83 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
9:05 PM83 F Female delivers a cricket to the owlet
9:36 PM83 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet
10:11 PM83 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet [QuickTime; 1.0MB]
10:12 PM83 F Owlet spends 24 minutes in the entryway
10:36 PM81 F Owlet backs out of the entryway to take delivery of a large insect
11:04 PM80 F Owlet sits in the entryway for a minute

May 3 - The owlet turned 28 days old at 6 AM, and is still with us. This isn't altogether unexpected, because Gehlbach found that eldest chicks left the nest in 27.5 ± 1.8 days, but for some reason I had expected him to be a brancher by now. Shows what I know.

CDTTemp.Description
1:30 AM75 F Owlet sits in entryway for 54 minutes
3:16 AM74 F Owlet sits in entryway for 58 minutes
4:26 AM74 F Owlet sits in entryway for 13 minutes. When the owlet drops down into the box, he has the hindquarters of a bird to eat.
5:08 AM74 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
5:57 AM74 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 4 minutes
6:02 AM74 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 9 minutes, until the male delivers a bird. The owlet doesn't put up enough of a fight for the bird, so the male exits carrying it.
6:43 AM74 F Sunrise
11:35 AM76 F Owlet spends 108 minutes sitting on perch
morning74-76 F One or two starling visits, but no entry
3:27 PM79 F Owlet spends 13 minutes sitting on perch, then moves to the entryway for 8 minutes
6:00 PM79 F Owlet spends 14 minutes sitting on perch
6:17 PM79 F Owlet spends 2 minutes sitting on perch, then moves to the entryway for 13 minutes
7:50 PM78 F Owlet spends 38 minutes in the entryway
afternoon76-80 F Lots of owlet exercise
8:09 PM83 F Sunset
8:29 PM78 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
8:30 PM78 F Owlet returns to the entryway for 1 minute
8:32 PM78 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 30 seconds, then attempts to explore the ceiling camera compartment. The glass ceiling prevents this, of course, but the owlet has a good try.
8:33 PM78 F Owlet sits on the perch for 3 minutes, then moves to the entryway for 7 minutes
8:50 PM77 F Owlet sits on the perch for 78 minutes
10:08 PM77 F Owlet takes delivery of a Texas blind snake
10:16 PM77 F Male attempts to deliver a gecko to the owlet, but thw owlet won't take it
10:18 PM77 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet
10:30 PM77 F Owlet sits in the entryway for 16 minutes
10:46 PM77 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
11:41 PM75 F Male delivers a small gecko to the owlet
11:53 PM75 F Owlet climbs to the perch, then moves to the entryway for 5 minutes, dropping down to the floor when he takes delivery of a cockroach

May 2 - The owlet is very active and is showing greater coordination in his climbing. In particular, he's learned that it's easier to leap straight up to the perch or entryway, than it is to climb. He's clearly putting the finishing touches on the skills he'll need to leave the nest, but so far he hasn't ventured far into the entryway; he's content to sit at its back edge. Soon, he should be creeping deeper into the entryway, until he's sitting at its outer lip and considering just what it would take to step off onto the owlet rail. Once he makes that step, he won't be returning to the nest box.

CDTTemp.Description
12:41 AM78 F After spending 76 minutes sitting in the entryway, the owlet returns to the nest box floor
1:44 AM76 F Owlet begins sitting in the entryway
3:19 AM76 F Owlet returns to the nest box floor, after 95 minutes
3:43 AM74 F Male pushes his head just far enough into the nest box to deliver a gecko to the owlet, then backs out
4:16 AM74 F Female visits the nest box for 4 minutes. There's some mutual preening, but no food delivery.
4:53 AM73 F Female arrives with a mouse. She feeds pieces to the owlet for the next 2 minutes, then exits, carrying the mouse.
6:11 AM73 F Owlet spends 17 minutes in the entryway
6:37 AM73 F Owlet spends 45 seconds in the entryway
6:38 AM73 F Owlet spends 5 minutes on the perch
6:43 AM73 F Sunrise
6:47 AM73 F Owlet spends 2 minutes in the entryway
7:18 AM73 F Owlet spends 8 minutes on the perch
9:46 AM76 F Owlet has peek through the entryway
11:20 AM76 F Owlet spends 10 minutes on the perch
11:45 AM79 F Owlet spends 1 minute on the perch
morning73-79 F Lots of climbing, and other owlet exercise
12:12 PM80 F Owlet spends 2 minutes on the perch
12:16 PM80 F Owlet spends 1 minute on the perch
12:19 PM80 F Owlet spends 3 minutes on the perch, then sits in the entryway for 28 mintues
4:21 PM86 F Owlet spends 7 minutes on the perch, then sits in the entryway for 2 minutes
5:35 PM89 F I get out a ladder, and attach a branch from a limb above, and to the side of, the nest box to one end of the owlet rail. In principle, this provides a walking path from the rail to the tree proper. However, past experience shows that just because an easy path is available, there's no guarantee an owlet will choose it. Still, it's potentially better than nothing.
afternoon79-89 F Lots more owlet exercise, including numerous attempts to explore the side camera compartment. A wall of glass prevents this, but hope springs eternal for our young friend.
8:09 PM83 F Sunset
8:19 PM83 F Owlet spends 14 minutes in the entryway, returning to the nest box floor at 8:33 PM
8:42 PM83 F Owlet returns to the entryway for a moment, then drops to the floor when the female delivers a moth. The owlet grabs for the bug carelessly and only ends-up with a piece of it, then the female exits with the remainder.
8:43 PM83 F Owlet returns to the entryway for another moment, then drops to the floor when the male attempts to deliver a cricket, but the owlet backs away from him and refuses to accept it
8:44 PM83 F Owlet sits in the entryway until 9:50 PM
9:54 PM80 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet
10:04 PM79 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the owlet
10:23 PM79 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
11:47 PM78 F Female spends 2 minutes in the nest box with the owlet
11:49 PM78 F Male attempts to deliver a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet backs away from him and refuses to accept it. He exits carrying the lizard.

May 1 - Owlet manages to sit in the entryway for the first time, and finds it fascinating. The outside world is calling to him. He won't remain in the nest box very much longer (a few days at most).

CDTTemp.Description
12:00 AM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
12:20 AM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
12:26 AM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
12:55 AM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
1:18 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
1:24 AM73 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
1:49 AM73 F Male offers a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet won't take it
2:00 AM73 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
4:39 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:53 AM73 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a cricket, to the owlet
4:58 AM72 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
5:33 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
6:03 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
6:16 AM73 F Male offers a mouse to the owlet, but the owlet won't take it
6:20 AM73 F Female arrives carrying the mouse, and spends 3 minutes feeding pieces of it to the owlet. Afterward, she exits the nest box, carrying the mouse.
6:44 AM73 F Sunrise
10:15 AM76 F Owlet spends 8 minutes on the perch
morning73-80 F No bird visits, a handful of climbing efforts
5:59 PM84 F Owlet spends 9 minutes on the perch
8:00 PM82 F Owlet spends 8 minutes on the perch
afternoon80-82 F Quiet afternoon. More climbing efforts.
8:08 PM82 F Sunset
8:08 PM82 F Owlet finally gets a good look out of the entryway, then he manages to sit in the entryway for the first time. He spends 17 minutes in the entryway.
8:31 PM81 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
8:36 PM81 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
8:36 PM81 F Owlet climbs into the entryway, remaining there for 38 minutes
9:42 PM81 F Male attempts to deliver a gecko to the owlet as its sits in the entryway, but the owlet backs-off and drops-down into the nest box.
9:43 PM81 F Male leans in from the entryway to deliver the gecko to the owlet
9:44 PM81 F Owlet returns to the entryway
10:13 PM81 F Owlet drops-down into the nest box to take delivery of a gecko from the male
10:48 PM79 F Male offers a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet won't take it
11:25 PM79 F Owlet returns to the entryway for about 75 minutes

April 30

CDTTemp.Description
12:03 AM74 F Female delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet
1:20 AM74 F Male delivers an American cockroach to the owlet, but the owlet retreats to the far wall, and refuses to accept the food. The male takes it with him when he exits.
4:00 AM73 F I remove the aluminum flashing from the trunk of the nest box tree. While this increases the danger from climbing predators, it makes it possible for a fallen owlet to climb back to safety in the nest box tree.
6:07 AM72 F Male delivers a small, headless bird to the owlet, who accepts the prey enthusiastically. The owlet promptly sets about alternately attempting to swallow the bird, and tearing it into bite-size hunks. By 6:38 the initial feeding attempt is complete, and there's still some left over.
6:55 AM72 F The owlet resumes feeding on remainder of the small bird. By 7:06 AM, the last of the bird has been swallowed.
6:45 AM72 F Sunrise
morning72-72 F At least half a dozen recorded starling visits, but no evidence of any entries
afternoon72-85 F At least eight recorded visits to the entryway, presumably by starlings. No entries. Otherwise, there was plenty of time for owlet exercise.
8:07 PM82 F Sunset
8:42 PM82 F Olwet climbs to the perch and spends 15 minutes there before falling off while attempting to turn around
9:19 PM80 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet. This is the first food delivery of the night, which suggests the parents are beginning to withold food to motivate the owlet to leave the nest box.
9:31 PM80 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
11:33 PM76 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
11:41 PM75 F Female drops by the nest box. While she performs her usual inspection of the bedding material, the owlet preens her head. The female pays no special attention to the owlet, and exits the nest box 3 minutes later.

April 29 - The owlet made surprisingly little effort to climb to the entryway today. Did this have anything to do with today being cooler, and more overcast than yesterday? Were this morning's two hours of visits by a red-bellied woodpecker a factor? (Will the woodpeckers attempt to nest in the box when the owlet leaves?) As usual I have more questions than answers.

A note about giving credit where it's due: I can only distinguish the male and female owls by their sex-specific roles, and a few individual quirks (the female is a bit awkward entering the nest box). Unfortunately for me, in this closing phase of nesting the roles of both adults are very similar, and their individual quirks may not be as pronounced as they once were. As a result, I may be mistaking the female for the male occasionaly, and therefore attributing more food deliveries to the male than I should. That said, the male is always the primary hunter of the pair, so he may still be making a disproportionate number of the food deliveries.

A while I'm noting things, I'd just like so say thanks once again to everyone who's written. I'm sure a few a messages have fallen through the cracks (apologies), but otherwise I do read them all, and respond whenever I can think of something useful to say. It's been very gratifying hearing from so many people (a particular favorite are the teachers and their classes), and as the project plods into its third month, the kind words and encouragement really help take the edge off of the sleep deprivation. :-) (I always miss the owls when nesting concludes for the year, but the end of the project is also an enormous relief.)

CDTTemp.Description
1:40 AM72 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
2:26 AM72 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
2:34 AM72 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
2:48 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
3:17 AM72 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:00 AM69 F One of the adults, most probably the female, enters the nest box and sits on the perch for 3 minutes. The owlet studies the adult intently, and the adult sometimes seems to be observing the owlet. Then the adult exits the nest box at 4:03 AM.
4:29 AM69 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
4:53 AM68 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
5:07 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
6:01 AM68 F Male brings a mouse to the owlet. [QuickTime; 0.9MB] The owlet puts up a heck of a fight to take the mouse, but not sufficient to convince the male to relinquish the rodent. The male exits carrying the mouse.
6:06 AM67 F One of the adults, probably the male, returns to the nest box to offer that mouse to the owlet again. Again, the owlet's efforts to seize it aren't sufficient and the adults exits with the mouse.
6:25 AM67 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
6:33 AM67 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the owlet
6:45 AM67 F Sunrise
morning67-73 F Quiet until 10 AM when a red-bellied woodpecker showed-up. No climbing attempts from the owlet.
afternoon73-81 F Just two visits from the woodpecker, then things were perfectly quiet. To my surprise, the owlet did no climbing.
8:07 PM80 F Sunset
8:24 PM80 F Owlet climbs to the perch for the first time
8:46 PM80 F Owlet has its first look out of the entryway
8:51 PM79 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:54 PM79 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:59 PM79 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
9:12 PM78 F Male delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet, who drops it. A few minutes later, the owlet finds and eats the snake, which was trying to disappear into the bedding material.
9:19 PM77 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:33 PM77 F Male delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet [QuickTime; 1.6MB]
9:37 PM77 F Male delivers another Texas blind snake to the owlet, or he tries to. The owlet doesn't seem interested in the snake, and the male subsequently exits with it.
9:43 PM77 F Female delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet, probably the same one the male brought at 9:37 PM. This time around, the owlet accepts the snake and swallows it.
9:49 PM76 F Female stops by, apparently to check on the owlet, and finds him still attempting to swallow the snake. It has disappeared into his mouth several times, but it doesn't seem to want to stay swallowed. (And who could blame it?) The female exits 3 minutes later.
10:29 PM75 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
11:28 PM74 F Female enters the nest box, and hangs from the front wall for a while, then sits in the entryway for a minute, during which time she takes delivery of a gecko from her mate on the owlet rail outside. The female drops down into the nest box, and presents the lizard to the owlet, but she releases the lizard a moment before the owlet grasps it, so the gecko ends-up forgotten on the floor; both owls apparently believing the other one has it.
11:49 PM74 F Male offers the owlet yet another Texas blind snake, but the owlet isn't interested. The male exits with the snake.

April 28 - Owlet banding day. Sallie came by this evening to give the owlet a medical checkup and a federal bird band. The owlet passed his physical with flying colors (no sign of the parasites, or the developmental defects of previous years) and was duly given his official band. While it's very unlikely we'll ever learn his fate because of that band, without it there's no chance at all, so I'm all for banding.

Equipped with his new jewelry, and with his talons firmly placed in Sallie's finger, the 23.7 day old owlet was photographed. Needless so say, our short friend has grown considerably since he was previously photographed at 8.6 days of age on April 13.

It's a good thing the owlet received his band and checkup tonight, because today he managed to climb up to the entryway for the first time. He didn't make it into the entryway, but he will soon, and then it won't be long before he leaves the nest box once and for all. After that, he'll spend a week climbing around in the nest box tree while he works-up to his first flight. In this free, but flightless, stage he's known as a "brancher". It's a dangerous time for an owlet, and his parents are, appropriately, at their most defensive during this time. Even walking near a tree with a brancher in it after dark will earn you verbal abuse from any adult who catches you, and if you get much closer, the adults begin making mock attacks on your head. If they become really concerned, real attacks begin. This an effective defense, and also allows an owl watcher to tracker the movements of the local branchers.

It'll be an enormous relief to see the owlet safely out of the nest box and established in the tree under the watchful eyes of his parents. Until then, I'm going to worry a lot.

CDTTemp.Description
12:29 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
2:55 AM68 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She stays for a minute, then exits the nest box.
3:34 AM68 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
4:16 AM68 F Male attempts to deliver a mouse to the owlet, but the owlet backs away into a corner. After a few more tries, the male exits the nest box, carrying the mouse.
4:27 AM68 F Female enters the nest box, carrying the mouse. She spends 3 minutes feeding the owlet, then exits the nest box at 4:30 AM, carrying the remainder of the mouse.
5:12 AM68 F Female returns to the nest box carrying the further depleted remains of the mouse. She spends a minute feeding the owlet, then climbs into the entryway carrying what little is left. She changes her mind about exiting, and returns to the owlet to offer it the remainder of the mouse, which the owlet won't accept. Then female exits the nest box.
6:33 AM67 F Owlet spends 7 minutes scaling the back wall of the nest box. It climbs all the way to the ceiling, where it seems determined to find a way to get past the glass ceiling that separates the nest chamber from the attic. The owlet's first serious attempt at climbing goes exceptionally well.
6:46 AM67 F Sunrise
morning67-76 F Quiet
12:15 PM77 F Owlet almost climbs into entryway
12:15 PM77 F Owlet gets his first look at a starling
2:50 PM83 F Owlet nearly reaches the entryway again
afternoon76-90 F Time for climbing. The owlet is becoming highly motivated to leave the nest.
8:06 PM81 F Sunset
8:30 PM80 F Female enters the nest box, presumably to check on the owlet. Shortly afterward, the male delivers a caterpillar to her, which she presents to the owlet.
8:40 PM80 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
9:09 PM78 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:28 PM78 F Male delivers a Texas blind snake to the owlet, who does manage to eat it over the nest 5 minutes or so
9:50 PM77 F Under the watchful eye of one of the adult owls, I bring down the nest box so that Sallie, the raptor rehabilitator, can give the owlet a federal bird band, and a medical checkup. The owlet is banded without difficulty, and is pronounced well-fed and in perfect health. The bedding in the nest box is changed, the camera compartment glass is cleaned, and the owlet rail, which was removed to inconvenience the starlings, is reinstalled. The owlet is photographed (note the band, and that it's talons have a good, strong grip on Sallie's finger) and returned to the nest box, which is hanging in the tree once again by 10:03 PM.
10:16 PM75 F Female enters the nest box to offer a gecko to the owlet. The owlet doesn't take the lizard, and Mme. Owl exits the nest box carrying it.
11:10 PM75 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
11:47 PM73 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet

April 27

CDTTemp.Description
12:53 AM73 F Female stops by the nest box to check on the owlet. She spends four minutes with the owlet, then exits.
2:10 AM69 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
3:05 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:20 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:37 AM64 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet
6:13 AM64 F Female stops by the nest box, for no apparent reason. She leaves 2 minutes later.
6:23 AM64 F Male delivers a big, fat hawk moth to the owlet
6:47 AM63 F Sunrise
morning63-76 F
afternoon76-89 F Owlet makes an attempt at climbing. It wasn't successful, but it was more sustained than the attempt from several days ago.
8:05 PM83 F Sunset
8:34 PM82 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
8:37 PM82 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet
8:48 PM81 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
8:58 PM80 F Male tries to deliver a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet shows no interest and retreats into a corner to avoid the free meal. The male exits the nest box carrying the lizard.
9:43 PM78 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet, does some nest box tidying, preens the owlet, then exits at 9:46 PM
10:16 PM78 F Female tries to deliver a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet shows no interest and retreats into a corner to avoid the free meal. The female exits the nest box carrying the lizard.

April 26

CDTTemp.Description
12:15 AM71 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
12:45 AM71 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a june bug, to the owlet
12:49 AM71 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
1:01 AM70 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
1:09 AM69 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
1:26 AM69 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
1:27 AM69 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
1:39 AM68 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet
1:46 AM68 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
1:53 AM68 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
2:04 AM67 F Female delivers something small to the owlet. She stays for 5 minutes, then exits the nest box.
2:12 AM66 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
2:20 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
2:38 AM66 F Female delivers a small insect to the owlet. She remains with the owlet for 17 minutes, until 2:55 AM, devoting much of that time to preening the owlet.
3:26 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko
3:46 AM62 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
4:55 AM61 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
5:06 AM60 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
5:34 AM59 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the owlet
6:13 AM58 F Male delivers a small bird to the owlet. [QuickTime; 2.4MB] The owlet spends the next 45 minutes trying to swallow the bird, failing, wandering around the nest box carrying the bird, eating pieces of the bird, trying again to swallow it, failing, and so on, until....
6:48 AM58 F Sunrise
6:58 AM58 F Female enters the nest box in a hurry, carrying an unusually large bird in her talons. [QuickTime; 2.0MB] Furious blue jays and other birds protest loudly outside. She feeds herself and the owlet for the next 18 minutes, then sets aside the bird.
7:31 AM58 F Female spends 16 minutes in the entryway, before returning to the nest box floor
9:46 AM67 F Female spends 4 minutes in the entryway, before exiting the nest box
morning58-76 F Female spends 168 minutes with the owlet, then leaves for her preferred daytime roost, wherever that is
afternoon76-93 F Lots of owlet exercise
8:05 PM83 F Sunset
8:32 PM83 F Female comes to the nest box looking for the bird she left there this morning. The bird has become buried in the bedding material due to the owlet's kicking around the bedding during the afternoon. After two minutes of searching, the female finds her bird and spends a minute eating pieces of it before she exits the nest box carrying the bird, at 8:35 PM.
8:41 PM82 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:53 PM81 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
9:27 PM79 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet. [QuickTime; 1.6MB] He insists on a little tug of war for control of the lizard, which the owlet looses. He continues to offer the lizard to the owlet, but the owlet has been spooked and now retreats from his offers. Eventually he gives up, and exits carrying the lizard.
9:34 PM78 F Female delivers a lizard to the owlet, but he refuses to take it. She swallows the lizard, and exits the nest box a minute later

April 25 - Not much activity today; very few food deliveries, and the owlet spent the majority of the time alone in the nest box. He made no efforts at climbing, so he still seems to be pretty content to stay in the box, which he should be at his age. It does seem to me that the parents are trying to encourage him to leave (the 18 hour gap between food deliveries suggests this), and, if so, they're starting unnecessarily early.

Somewhere around 10 PM I became concerned by the fact that there'd been no food deliveries and went out to check the nest box, just in case the entryway had somehow become obstructed, or something else was preventing food delivery. There was nothing wrong, however, and a search of the nearby trees revealed one of the adult owls observing me and the nest box. The owl wasn't at all concerned when I came to stand beneath the tree in which it was sitting, leaving me with the impression that it had been sitting there for some time and had no intention of leaving anytime soon. It may have been sitting guard duty, but it certainly wasn't making food deliveries. So it seems like a strategy to me.

CDTTemp.Description
12:10 AM65 F Female returns to the nest box, preens the owlet, and exits after 9 minutes
1:36 AM62 F Female delivers a bird to the nest box. For the first two minutes, she feeds herself, then she begins feeding the owlet. Feeding ceases around 1:46 AM.
2:24 AM61 F Female exits nest box
2:26 AM61 F Male delivers a small bird to the owlet, but the owlet shows no interest (not hungry after sharing a bird with Mom?), so the male exits the nest box, taking the bird with him
5:04 AM64 F Female delivers a bird to the nest box. She spends a minute feeding herself, then begins feeding the owlet. Feeding ends 32 minutes later when the female exits the nest box carrying the still substantial remains of the bird.
6:49 AM64 F Sunrise
7:00 AM64 F Female returns to the nest box
10:12 AM69 F Female spends 7 minutes sitting in the entryway, a minute on the perch, and 7 more minutes in the entryway, then she exits the nest box at 10:27 AM
morning64-73 F Mme. Owl showed-up 11 minutes after sunrise, stayed 207 minutes, and then the owlet was on its own again
afternoon73-91 F Lots of owlet exercise, but no attempts at climbing
8:04 PM82 F Sunset
10:57 PM74 F Female joins the owlet in the nest box, but brings no food. She exits the nest box 3 minutes later, at 11:00 PM.
11:23 PM74 F Male delivers a moth, the owlet's first meal in 18 hours
11:33 PM73 F Male delivers a small food item to the owlet

April 24 - The female owl spent only a small portion of the morning in the nest box with the owlet; the rest of the day the owlet was on its own. This may be attributable to the increasing heat, the lack of threats that would mandate the female's presence, or even an attempt by the female to motivate the owlet to begin thinking about leaving the nest. If the latter, her effort seems a bit premature; as of 6 AM today the owlet was 19 days old. Gehlbach's study found that the first chick to leave the nest normally does so after 27.5 ± 1.8 days, though some leave as early as 24 days, and some as late as 32 days. Food being plentiful, the longer this owlet waits, the stronger it will be, so I'm hoping it'll take its own sweet time before deciding to leave. Of course, the parents may begin withholding food when the they feel the time is right for the owlet to leave the nest, so this isn't entirely the owlet's decision.

CDTTemp.Description
12:02 AM73 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits the nest box 2 minutes later.
12:12 AM73 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet. She exits the nest box 1 minute later.
12:28 AM73 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet. As always, he exits as soon as the delivery is made.
12:54 AM72 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet
2:29 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
2:39 AM73 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits 3 minutes later.
3:33 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
3:37 AM73 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits a minute later.
3:52 AM73 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits about 30 seconds later.
5:19 AM72 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
5:29 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
5:34 AM72 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
5:53 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
6:07 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
6:21 AM73 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the owlet
6:29 AM73 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
6:50 AM73 F Sunrise
7:20 AM73 F In broad daylight, and after an absence of 308 minutes, the female returns to the nest box
9:13 AM73 F Female spends 7 minutes in the entryway, then exits. She does not return until after sunset.
morning73-81 F Unusual behavior from the female owl: She didn't show-up until 30 minutes after sunrise, and then stayed for less than two hours before exiting.
1:23 PM84 F The owlets makes its first attempt to climb to the perch. The attempt is very brief, ineffective, and not repeated.
afternoon81-94 F Lots of room and time for exercise
8:03 PM87 F Sunset
8:29 PM83 F Female delivers an insect to the owlet, then exits after about 45 seconds
8:33 PM83 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
8:38 PM83 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
8:46 PM83 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:18 PM78 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet. She exits 2 minutes later.
10:31 PM74 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet
10:35 PM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet

April 23 - The owlet stares upward with interest; at his mother sitting in the entryway, at the strange objects and reflections in the ceiling camera compartment glass, and at the empty entryway which admits light and sounds from the world beyond. Curiousity is becoming a major element of the owlet's motivations. Each passing day will magnify that desire to see and hear new things, and it will ultimately drive the owlet to find some way to reach the entryway so it can have a look at, and listen to, the world. From there the next phase begins: Leaving the security of the nest. (But that's a ways-off yet.)

CDTTemp.Description
12:00 AM66 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet, then preens the owlet
12:18 AM66 F Female exits nest box
12:52 AM65 F After a 34 minute absence, the female delivers a small, headless bird. She shares litte, if any, with the owlet, and swallows the remainder of the bird herself 6 minutes later.
1:21 AM66 F Female exits the nest box
2:05 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
3:45 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:00 AM66 F After a 159 minute absence, the female returns to the nest box with a wet face and belly. She's had a bath quite recently. She exits 39 minutes later, at 4:39 AM.
6:50 AM68 F After a 131 minute absence, the female returns to the nest box
6:51 AM68 F Sunrise
6:56 AM68 F Female spends 5 minutes in the entryway
10:08 AM70 F Female spends 5 minutes in the entryway
morning68-73 F No recorded bird visits
12:06 AM73 F Female spends 11 minutes in the entryway, then 9 on the perch
12:47 AM75 F Female spends 32 minutes in the entryway, then 3 on the perch
4:33 AM76 F Female spends 21 minutes in the entryway, then 16 on the perch
6:33 AM76 F Female spends 3 minutes in the entryway
6:38 AM76 F Female spends 46 minutes in the entryway, then 2 on the perch, and 6 more in the entryway
7:38 AM75 F Female spends 25 minutes in the entryway, then exits the nest box at 8:03 PM
afternoon73-76 F Quiet
8:03 PM75 F Sunset
8:29 AM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:30 AM73 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
8:33 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:25 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
10:15 AM73 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a mid-sized grasshopper, to the owlet
10:17 AM73 F One of the adults shows-up in the entryway with a gecko, but backs out without having delivered the lizard
10:22 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
10:44 AM73 F Female delivers something to the owlet
10:46 AM73 F Male delivers a moth to the female, who presents it to the owlet. The female exits the nest box shortly afterward.
10:50 AM73 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet, then exits
10:57 AM73 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
11:00 AM73 F Female exits nest box

April 22 - Another fish delivery this morning, a few bird visits during the morning, but otherwise a typical day: Resting, preening, staring, hunting, and quite a bit of stuffing food into the owlet.

CDTTemp.Description
12:10 AM69 F After a 13 minute absence, the female returns to the nest box
12:59 AM68 F Female exits the nest box
1:10 AM66 F After an 11 minute absence, the female delivers a moth to the owlet. She exits the nest box 6 minutes later.
1:40 AM66 F After a 24 minute absence, the female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits the nest box 13 minutes later.
2:55 AM64 F Male delivers another goldfish to the owlet [QuickTime; 0.7MB]
3:18 AM63 F After an 85 minute absence, the female delivers a moth to the owlet. She exits 3 minutes later.
4:04 AM63 F After a 43 minute absence, the female delivers a moth to the owlet
4:24 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko to the female who presents it to the owlet
5:43 AM63 F Female exits the nest box
6:29 AM63 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
6:52 AM63 F Sunrise
6:55 AM63 F After a 72 minute absence, the female returns to the nest box
10:03 AM65 F Female spends 10 minutes in the entryway
morning63-65 F Two recorded bird visits during the 8 o'clock hour, but no apparent entry
5:34 PM68 F Female spends 31 minutes in the entryway, then 5 minutes on the perch, and 28 more minutes in the entryway
7:38 PM67 F Female spends 17 minutes in the entryway
7:57 PM67 F Female spends 8 minutes in the entryway, then exits the nest box at 8:05 PM
afternoon65-68 F Quiet afternoon
8:02 PM67 F Sunset
8:25 PM67 F A good example of owlet wing exercises [QuickTime; 0.2MB]
8:35 PM67 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:39 PM67 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:14 PM64 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
9:16 PM64 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:16 PM65 F Female delivers something, possibly a caterpillar, to the owlet
9:25 PM67 F Female exits nest box
9:47 PM65 F After a 22 minute absence, the female delives a small bird, and soon begins feeding pieces of it to the owlet. Feeding lasts about 10 minutes, then the female climbs into the entryway carrying the remainder of the bird, and exits 21 minutes later, at 10:19 PM
10:37 PM65 F After an 18 minute absence, the female returns to the nest box. Upon arrival she spends nearly 60 seconds sitting in the entryway, studying the nest box interior and the owlet. I've only ever seen her do this when she's returning for the first time after I've disturbed the nest, which hasn't happened for a week, so I have no idea what was going through her mind on this occasion.
11:01 PM66 F Female exits the nest box
11:38 PM66 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet. The owlet doesn't respond at first, so it's fortunate that the male is persistent.

April 21 - I knew, in principle, that screech owls sometimes hunted acquatic animals; Sallie has told me in the past that she included crayfish in her screech owl live prey training, until her local bait shop closed. All the same, I was completely unprepared to see a goldfish (or similar fish) arrive in the nest box this morning, delivered by the ever-resourceful male owl. I had to watch the video half a dozen times to figure-out what it was he'd delivered. I'm grateful for the confusion; it'd be a shame to ever reach a point where the owls hold no further surprises.

CDTTemp.Description
12:15 AM69 F Female exits nest box
12:30 AM69 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
12:35 AM69 F After an absence of 20 minutes, the female returns to deliver a moth to the owlet
12:59 AM67 F Female exits nest box
1:41 AM67 F After an absence of 42 minutes, female returns to deliver a moth to the owlet
2:07 AM66 F Male delivers a nice, big hawk moth to the female who presents it to the owlet
2:10 AM66 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later carrying a small bird, which she begins tearing apart and feeding to the owlet
2:21 AM66 F Female exits nest box, carrying the remainder of the small bird
3:49 AM65 F After an absence of 88 minutes, the female returns to the nest box
4:07 AM65 F Male delivers a fish to the female, who presents it to the owlet, who swallows it without difficulty. [QuickTime; 1.1MB] The fish looked a lot like a small goldfish, so I assume it came from an ornamental pond somewhere in the neighborhood. I don't know who just lost this fish, but I'd like say to them: Thank you for supporting your local owls. (In all the years I've been observing screech owl nesting, this is the first fish I've ever seen.)
5:35 AM63 F Female exits the nest box
6:26 AM63 F After an absence of 51 minutes, the female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet, then she exits the nest box
6:29 AM63 F After an absence of 3 minutes, the female returns to the nest box carrying a small bird, which she begins tearing apart and feeding to the owlet. After 3 minutes of reducing the bird's size, she allows the owlet to swallow the remainder.
6:39 AM63 F Female exits the nest box
6:54 AM63 F Sunrise
6:58 AM64 F Female enters the nest box as if she were fired from a gun. Since she's stayed out past sunrise, it's possible she was spotted by some of the birds on the day shift, and was chased to the box.
morning64-73 F Two bird visits in the seven o'clock hour, but nothing afterward
12:48 PM65 F Female spends 38 minutes in the entryway, then 8 minutes on the perch, and a further 7 in the entryway
7:25 PM79 F Female spends 8 minutes in the entryway
7:50 PM78 F Female spends 6 minutes in the entryway
7:59 PM77 F Female spends 14 minutes in the entryway, then exits the nest box at 8:13 PM
afternoon73-84 F Quiet afternoon
8:01 PM77 F Sunset
8:50 PM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:13 PM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:16 PM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:32 PM73 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet
9:32 PM73 F After an absence of 79 minutes, the female delivers a moth to the owlet. The owlet fumbles it, and the moth goes for an extended wander around the nest box. The females watches it, but does nothing, as if there was a double-jeopardy rule in screech owls.
9:47 PM73 F Female exits nest box
10:04 PM73 F After an absence of 17 minutes, the female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits 3 minutes later.
10:25 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
10:53 PM73 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet. She exits 4 minutes later.
11:31 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet

April 20 - A big night for our small owlet: He's managed to feed himself for the first time. See the 8:45 PM notes.

CDTTemp.Description
12:03 AM74 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 60 minutes
12:42 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko, female presents it to owlet
12:44 AM73 F Female exits the nest box, returning 3 minutes later, at 12:47 AM
12:47 AM73 F Female presents a mystery bug to the owlet
1:08 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko, female keeps presenting it to the owlet until the owlet eats it
1:08 AM73 F Male delivers an insect, female presents it owlet
1:36 AM73 F Female exits nest box, returning 45 minutes later, at 2:21 AM
2:21 AM73 F Female presents a mystery bug to the owlet
2:41 AM73 F Female exits nest box, returning 87 minutes later, at 4:08 AM
4:28 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko, female presents it to the owlet. A minute later the female exits the nest box, returning 6 minutes later, at 4:34 AM.
4:34 AM70 F Female returns to the nest box carrying the stiff and headless body of a mouse. This probably the same mouse she delivered at 10:02 PM on the 19th, which mean she's maintaining a food cache somewhere in the neighborhood. I don't know why the nest box isn't considered a good enough cache site. After two minutes of feeding herself, she begins feeding the owlet. This continues for 4 minutes, then she leaves with what's left of the mouse at 4:40 AM.
5:40 AM68 F Male delivers a fresh mouse to the owlet. The delivery was hopeless [QuickTime; 1.3MB], just like every other delivery of large prey to the owlet that he's attempted. He'll never understand, but his heart is in the right place.
5:48 AM68 F After an absence of 68 minutes, the female returns to the nest box carrying the mouse the male had previously attempted to deliver. (If it's a different mouse, it's quite a coincidence.) She immediately begins feeding pieces of mouse to the owlet. [QuickTime; 1.3MB] She completes feeding at 5:52, and exits the nest box carrying the hindquarters of the mouse.
6:40 AM68 F After an absence of 48 minutes, the female and the mouse hindquarters return to the nest box. She promptly resumes feeding the owlet, and soon encourages him to swallow most of the remaining mouse, which he does with ease.
6:49 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 9 minutes later (5 minutes after sunrise)
6:54 AM68 F Sunrise
morning68 F Perfectly quiet morning. No bird visits. Lots of time for preening.
3:57 PM75 F Female sits in entryway for 6 minutes
6:56 PM76 F Female sits in entryway for 3 minutes
7:38 PM76 F Female sits in entryway for 2 minutes
7:52 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 19 minutes, before exiting at 8:11 PM
afternoon68-76 F A nice, quiet afternoon, too.
8:01 PM74 F Sunset
8:43 PM73 F Male delivers a small bird to the owlet. The owlet takes hold of the bird enough that he leaves it with the owlet. The owlet spends the next two minutes making an admirable effort to swallow the bird, though he can't quite manage it.
8:45 PM73 F After an absence of 34 minutes, the female returns to the nest box to deliver a cockroach. At first she doesn't have much luck, because the owlet's mouth it completely full of bird. She persists, however, and after a while the owlet spits out the bird, and accepts the bug. Shortly afterward decides to sit in the entryway, and the owlet decides to have another go at that bird. The female leaves a minute later. Around 9 minutes later, the owlet seems to have given-up on swallowing the bird, and is trying to emulate his mother by holding down the kill with his feet while he tears at with his beak. By 9:56 hunks of bird can be seen disappearing into the owlet's mouth, so his attempt at feeding himself has turned out be a success. (It's just a shame that he had his back to camera most of the time.) He resumes attempting to swallow the bird shortly afterward, and he finally does so at 9:19 PM. It took 36 minutes of effort; a really impressive show of determination on his part, and a milestone in his development.
9:23 PM73 F Female delivers a moth. At first the well-fed owlet isn't interested, but eventually he accepts the moth and just holds it in his beak. After a while he does manage to swallow it.
9:36 PM73 F Female exits the nest box
9:52 PM73 F Male delivers a small bird (not as small as the previous one). The owlet makes a few half-hearted efforts to take the bird from him, but he's unimpressed, and exits the nest box carrying the bird.
10:00 PM73 F After an absence of 24 minutes, the female delivers a moth to the owlet. This time, the owlet is quick to take the moth.
10:07 PM73 F Female exits the nest box
10:27 PM73 F After an absence of 20 minutes, the female delivers another moth to the owlet. She exits again one minute later.
11:41 PM69 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
11:43 PM68 F After an absence of 75 minutes, the female delivers a moth to the owlet

April 19

CDTTemp.Description
12:05 AM73 F Female exits the nest box
12:17 AM72 F Female returns to the nest box, after 12 minutes. She presents a mystery bug to the owlet.
12:23 AM72 F Female exits the nest box
1:05 AM71 F Female returns to the nest box after 42 minutes. She presents a moth to the owlet.
1:21 AM71 F Female exits the nest box
1:26 AM71 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
1:40 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
1:49 AM72 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
1:52 AM72 F Female exits the nest box
2:26 AM72 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
3:07 AM71 F Female returns after 75 minutes. She presents a gecko to the owlet, over and over again, but the owlet isn't interested. She persists, and after two minutes the owlet does take the lizard from her.
4:02 AM70 F Female exits the nest box, returning 38 minutes later, at 4:40 AM
4:40 AM70 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
4:44 AM69 F Female exits the nest box, returning 39 minutes later, at 5:23 AM
5:21 AM69 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
5:23 AM69 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
5:26 AM69 F Male delivers a moth, the female eats it
6:07 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 7 minutes later, at 6:14 AM
6:14 AM68 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet, then exits the nest box a minute later
6:20 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet, but the owlet isn't interested. Just as the owlet begins to show some willingness to take the lizard, the male gives-up and exits the nest box, taking the lizard with him.
6:48 AM68 F Female returns after 33 minutes
6:55 AM68 F Sunrise
morning68-73 F Another quiet morning; this one with just a single bird visit
2:54 PM73 F Female sits in entryway for 28 minutes
6:37 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 11 minutes
7:36 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 19 minutes
7:58 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 10 minutes, then exits the nest box
afternoon73-74 F Quiet. Just one bird visit. Female spends surprisingly little time in the entryway, relative to previous days. A light rain has fallen all afternoon, and that has kept the heat down. It's possible that sitting in the entryway is most appealing on hotter days.
8:00 PM74 F Sunset
8:08 PM74 F Female exits the nest box
8:26 PM74 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the owlet
8:27 PM74 F Male delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
8:31 PM74 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:37 PM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:11 PM73 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet, after an absence of 63 minutes
9:17 PM73 F Female exits the nest box, returning 6 minutes later, at 9:23 PM
9:23 PM73 F After an absence of 6 minutes, the female delivers a moth to the owlet, then she exits
9:30 PM73 F After an absence of 7 minutes, the female delivers a moth to the owlet. She exits the nest box a minute later.
9:38 PM73 F Female delivers a moth to the owlet
9:44 PM73 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
10:02 PM73 F After an absence of 24 minutes, the female returns carrying a mouse [QuickTime; 2.9MB], (Hopefully it was one of the ones that have been damaging my house.) At first she feeds only herself, but after 30 seconds of the owlet's begging she begins to make food-promising sounds, and after 50 seconds she's putting hunks of mouse in the owlet's mouth. This lasts for about 4 minutes, at which time the female exits the nest box carrying the substantial remainder of the mouse.
10:54 PM73 F After an absence of 47 minutes, the female returns to the nest box without the mouse
11:01 PM72 F Male delives an insect, possibly a moth, which the female presents to the owlet
11:03 PM72 F Female exits nest box
11:15 PM72 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet

April 18

CDTTemp.Description
12:06 AM73 F Female exits the nest box, returning 22 minutes later, at 12:28 AM
12:28 AM73 F Female returns to the nest box after 22 minutes. She delivers a mystery bug to the owlet.
1:11 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko, female presents it to the owlet. Female exits the nest box not long after the male.
1:16 AM73 F Female returns to the nest box after 5 minutes. She is carrying a small bird. Initially she feeds herself, and the owlet takes no interest, but within a minute she begins feeding pieces to the owlet, who proves quite interested. Six minutes after she arrived, the female departs, carrying the greatly diminished remains of the small bird.
2:15 AM73 F Female returns to the nest box after 52 minutes, at 2:15 AM
2:37 AM70 F Female exits the nest box
2:53 AM70 F Female returns to the nest box after 16 minutes. She presents a mystery bug to the owlet.
3:35 AM67 F Female exits the nest box, returning 5 minutes later to present an insect to the owlet
3:51 AM67 F Male delivers a small, headless bird. Female swallows it.
4:47 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 51 minutes later at 5:38 AM. She presents a mystery bug to the owlet.
6:14 AM68 F Female exits the nest box
6:32 AM68 F Male delivers an insect to the owlet
6:55 AM67 F Female returns to the nest box, after 41 minutes
6:57 AM67 F Sunrise
morning67-74 F Another quiet morning; no bird visits
2:31 PM78 F Female spends 11 minutes sitting in the entryway, then 8 minutes on the perch
3:32 PM79 F Female spends 33 minutes sitting in the entryway, then 24 minutes on the perch
6:20 PM80 F Female spends 10 minutes sitting in the entryway
7:08 PM79 F Female spends 20 minutes sitting in the entryway
7:51 PM79 F Female spends 22 minutes sitting in the entryway. While she's there the owlet tries its wings [QuickTime; 0.3MB], the first time I've observed it doing so. The owlet will leave the nest box a week before it can fly, so those wings are a long way from doing anything useful, but the exercise must be useful.
afternoon74-80 F Quiet afternoon. No bird visits.
7:59 PM78 F Sunset
8:13 PM78 F Female exits the nest box
8:41 PM76 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:43 PM76 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
8:54 PM76 F Female returns to the nest box after 41 minutes
8:58 PM76 F Female exits the nest box, returning 4 seconds later with a gecko, which she presents to the owlet. I don't know how she managed that.
9:02 PM76 F Female exits the nest box
9:02 PM76 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
9:32 PM75 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
9:47 PM74 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet
10:25 PM74 F Female exits the nest box, returning 76 minutes later, at 11:41 PM
11:41 PM73 F Female returns to the nest box, after 76 minutes, and presents a small gecko to the owlet

April 17

CDTTemp.Description
12:11 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko. The female presents it to the owlet.
12:12 AM67 F Female exits the nest box, returning 38 minutes later, at 12:50 AM
1:37 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko, female presents it to the owlet
3:35 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko, female presents it to the owlet
4:02 AM62 F Male delivers a caterpillar of a species he's never delivered before (this one is vividly banded and a good bit larger than his usual brand). The female presents it to the owlet.
4:06 AM62 F Male delivers a moth, female presents it to the owlet
4:39 AM62 F Female exits the nest box
4:43 AM62 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 4 minutes. She presents a mystery bug to the owlet, then exits the nest box
4:45 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:46 AM62 F Female delivers a mystery bug to the owlet. She exits the nest box again 2 minutes later, at 4:48 AM.
4:59 AM61 F Male delivers a small bird to the owlet, or he tries to do so. The owlet has no idea what to do with the bird, and the male has no idea what the owlet's problem is, so after making a credible try, he gives-up and exits the nest box, taking the bird with him.
5:21 AM61 F Female delivers a small gecko to the owlet
5:38 AM61 F Male delivers a small bird. The female proceeds to feed pieces to the owlet.
6:17 AM61 F Female exits the nest box
6:51 AM62 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 34 minutes. She presents an insect to the owlet.
6:58 AM63 F Sunrise
morning63-74 F Quiet morning. No bird visits. Lots ot time for really satisfying preening.
1:00 PM75 F Female spends 15 minutes in the entryway, before moving to the perch for 6 minutes
4:57 PM81 F Female spends 30 minutes in the entryway. The owlet experiments with kicking around the bedding material.
6:44 PM82 F Female spends 15 minutes in the entryway
7:27 PM82 F Female spends 10 minutes in the entryway
7:54 PM80 F Female spends 19 minutes in the entryway, before exiting the nest box
afternoon74-83 F Peaceful and warm
7:58 PM80 F Sunset
8:52 PM77 F Female returns after an absence of 39 minutes
9:02 PM77 F Female exits the nest box
9:06 PM77 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
9:21 PM77 F Female returns to the nest box with a bird, after an absence of 19 minutes. She spends a minute eating pieces of the bird herself, then she spends 5 minutes feeding the owlet.
9:27 PM75 F Female exits the nest box carrying the remainder of the bird. She returns 18 minutes later, at 9:45 PM.
10:16 PM74 F Female exits the nest box, returning 90 minutes later, at 11:31 PM

April 16 - It's been a while since the last delivery of a large prey item; almost everything has been moths and somewhat undersized geckos. I assume the owls are utilizing the prey that's most conviently available to them. It may be small, but it's also very easy, and there's no chance of being injured in a fight. Also, now that she can leave the owlet unattended, the female is hunting for herself once again. That, along with the peculiar situation of having only one owlet, makes the male's job easier than it has been for some time. He's gone from being responsible for feeding his mate and the owlet, to merely providing for a sizable percentage of the owlet's needs.

CDTTemp.Description
12:21 AM68 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 30 minutes. She brings a gecko for the owlet.
12:30 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko. The female holds onto it for two minutes, then exits the nest box carrying the lizard. She returns 19 minutes later, at 12:51 AM.
2:36 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 8 minutes later, at 2:44 PM, carrying a gecko
3:27 AM68 F Female exits the nest box
3:35 AM68 F Male delivers a moth to the owlet
3:48 AM68 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 21 minutes
4:28 AM68 F Female exits the nest box. She returns 5 minutes later, at 4:33 AM, with a gecko for the owlet
5:19 AM68 F Female exits the nest box
5:47 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko to the owlet [QuickTime; 1.6MB]
5:51 AM68 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 32 minutes
6:27 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 5 minutes later, at 6:32 AM. She presents a gecko to the owlet.
6:33 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 21 minutes later, at 6:54 AM
6:59 AM68 F Sunrise
morning68-77 F Quiet morning. No bird visits.
12:41 PM79 F Female spends 7 minutes in the entryway, then 10 minutes on the perch, then 2 more minutes in the entryway
1:02 PM80 F Female spends 24 minutes in the entryway
2:12 PM83 F Female spends 46 minutes in the entryway
3:13 PM88 F Female spends 34 minutes in the entryway, before exiting the nest box at 3:47 PM (in broad daylight!)
4:35 PM93 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 48 minutes
6:14 PM92 F Female sits in the entryway for 20 minutes, then moves to the perch for 8 minutes, before returning to the entryway for 4 minutes
7:35 PM84 F Female sits in the entryway for 43 minutes, before exiting the nest box at 8:18 PM
afternoon77-93 F Mme. Owl devoted much of the afternoon to staring out of the nest box, watching the world go by. Remarkably, she exited the nest box in broad daylight and stayed out for 48 minutes. An owl voluntarily exposing itself during the day, and with songbirds in the area, surprises me. I wish I knew what she was doing. (Possibly nothing more exciting than napping in a favorite roost.)
7:58 PM83 F Sunset
8:18 PM82 F Female exits the nest box
8:24 PM82 F Female delivers a grasshopper to the owlet, after an absence of 6 minutes
8:26 PM81 F Female exits the nest box, returning 71 minutes later, at 9:37 PM. She has taken a bath during her absence.
9:38 PM74 F Male delivers a moth. Female presents it to the owlet.
10:32 PM70 F Male delivers a moth. Female presents it to the owlet.
10:42 PM70 F Male delivers a small gecko. Female presents it to the owlet.
10:44 PM70 F Male delivers a moth. Female presents it to the owlet.
10:50 PM69 F Male delivers a moth. Female presents it to the owlet.
11:03 PM68 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes, then exits the nest box
11:11 PM68 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 8 minutes. She delivers a moth to the owlet.
11:15 PM69 F Female exits the nest box, returning 3 minutes later, at 11:18 PM, with an insect for the owlet.
11:19 PM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 3 minutes later, at 11:21 PM, with a caterpillar for the owlet. Moments later the male delivers a small gecko, which the female also presents to the owlet. The female then exits the nest box.
11:25 PM68 F Female delivers some sort of insect to the owlet

April 15 - Between 12:22 and 12:51 AM I brought down the nest box down to replace a burnt-out illuminator array. I'd wanted to leave the owls alone for another six or seven days, but maintaing the flow of good quality pictures is central to this project. Helping out the owls is the number one priority, of course, but with an owlet in the box, there was no danger of abandonment, and therefore no conflict between those priorities.

CDTTemp.Description
12:12 AM68 F Male delivers a small food item, presumably an insect. The female gives it to the owlet.
12:15 AM68 F Female exits nest box
12:22 AM68 F Now that the female has exited the nest box for her own reasons, I bring down the nest box, remove the side camera compartment, replace its failed infrared illuminator array, and then put everything back where it belongs. The operation takes 29 minutes; twice as long as expected. The illumination pattern produced by the new array isn't ideal, and there're minor reflections of the illuminators now visible, but this setup will suffice for now. The owlet remains in the nest box the whole time, without moving an inch, or making a sound. It was covered with a towel to help ensure that it stayed warm, and seems to have slept through almost the entire process.
1:05 AM66 F Female returns to the nest box 14 minutes after it is returned to the tree
1:05 AM66 F Male delivers a caterpillar, moments after the female returns to the nest box. The female gives the caterpillar to the owlet.
1:28 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko. The female gives it to the owlet.
2:04 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko. The female gives it to the owlet, who swallows it tail-first.
2:32 AM65 F Male delivers a moth. The female gives it to the owlet.
3:09 AM65 F Female exits nest box
3:18 AM66 F Male delivers a moth directly to the owlet. The owlet fumbles it, and the moth walks away. The owlet spends the next 20 minutes searching for it on and off. The owlet comes close a few times, but never does catch the moth.
3:56 AM66 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet
4:45 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko to the female, who gives it to the owlet. The owlet swallows the lizard with ease.
5:17 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko to the female, who gives it to the owlet. The owlet fumbles the lizard and mom has to present it to him again, but eventually he does swallow the lizard.
6:03 AM66 F Female exits the nest box, returning 6 minutes later, at 6:09 AM, with a small insect which she gives to the owlet
6:17 AM65 F Male delivers a moth, which the female presents to the owlet. This moth the owlet manages swallow.
6:36 AM65 F Female exits the nest box, returning 4 minutes later with a caterpillar, which she gives to the owlet. It's not clear that the owlet eats it, however.
6:41 AM66 F Female exits the nest box, returning 13 minutes later, at 6:54 AM
7:00 AM64 F Sunrise
8:32 AM66 F Female spends 2 minutes sitting in the entryway
10:25 AM69 F Female spends 10 minutes sitting in the entryway, before moving to the perch for 7 minutes
11:37 AM72 F Female spends 2 minutes looking out the entryway
morning64-73 F No evidence of bird visits
1:58 PM76 F Female spends 6 minutes in the entryway before moving to the perch for 4 minutes
4:49 PM81 F Female spends 2 minutes in the entryway before moving to the perch for 4 minutes, then back to the entryway for 9 minutes
5:35 PM81 F Female spends 13 minutes in the entryway
6:53 PM80 F Female spends 10 minutes in the entryway
7:32 PM79 F Female spends 38 minutes in the entryway, before exiting at 8:10 PM
afternoon73-81 F It's a warm day, so sitting in the entryway watching the world go by is probably a lot more pleasant that sitting on one's offspring, especially if it won't hold still
7:57 PM77 F Sunset
8:12 PM77 F Female delivers a gecko to the owlet, then exits the nest box
9:14 PM74 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 62 minutes
9:40 PM73 F Male delivers a moth, female passes it along to the owlet
9:49 PM73 F Male delivers a moth, female passes it along to the owlet
9:59 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko, female passes it along to the owlet
10:03 PM73 F Male delivers a moth, female passes it along to the owlet, who does manage to swallow it
10:25 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko, female follows him out of the nest box, carrying the lizard
10:47 PM70 F Female returns to the nest box bearing a gecko after an absence of 22 minutes. The owlet gets the gecko, of course.
11:51 PM69 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute and a half, then exits the nest box

April 14

CDTTemp.Description
12:35 AM65 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute and a half, then exits the nest box. She returns 17 minutes later, at 12:52 AM.
1:28 AM66 F Female exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later, at 1:34 AM
2:17 AM64 F Male delivers an insect. The female takes a piece of it from him and feeds it to the owlet. Finding that his mate isn't interested in the remainder of the bug, the male swallows it, and is on his way.
2:17 AM63 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a june bug. The female gives it to the owlet who swallows it easily.
4:07 AM64 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a june bug. The female gives it to the owlet, who swallows it on his first try, albeit with a bit of work.
5:16 AM63 F Male delivers an insect, which the female gives to the owlet, who swallows it
5:21 AM62 F Male delivers an insect, which the female gives to the owlet, who swallows it
5:35 AM63 F Male delivers a mid-size gecko, which the female gives to the owlet, who swallows it
5:40 AM63 F Female exits nest box
6:23 AM63 F Male delivers a small bird, possibly a wren, directly to the owlet, since his mate is absent. He has his usual lack of success as he tries repeatedly to coax the owlet into swallowing the bird whole. Having failed, he exits the nest box at 6:24 AM, taking the bird with him.
6:25 AM63 F The female returns after an absence of 45 minutes. She doesn't have the bird with her, so it seems that she didn't meet her mate on the way in.
7:01 AM62 F Sunrise
morning62-73 F Only one recorded visit to the nest box, and no evidence of an entry. The owls had a very peaceful morning.
5:10 PM86 F Female sits in the entryway for 36 minutes, then she spends 9 minutes on the perch
5:55 PM89 F Female returns to the entryway for 14 minutes
7:17 PM89 F Female sits in the entryway for 11 minutes
7:31 PM82 F Mutual preening
7:45 PM80 F Female sits in the entryway for 29 minutes, then exits at 8:14 PN
afternoon73-89 F The weather is warm enough that the female chooses not to brood the owlet for some of the afternoon. She spends much of her free time sitting in the entryway, watching the world go by. There were some visits by birds early in the afternoon, but no came deep enough into the entryway for the sensor to "see" them.
7:57 PM80 F Sunset
8:35 PM77 F The lower infrared illuminator array in the side camera compartment begins to fail in earnest. It had first shown signs of impending death shortly after I returned the nest box to the tree yesterday evening. (Of course!) Assuming I didn't slavage any of the illuminators from previous arrays, these have been running continuously for more than 10,200 hours. I'd've thought that'd be a walk in the park for an LED, but perhaps not; I had to replace one of the arrays in the ceiling compartment shortly before nesting began this year. I'll replace the bad LED in that array, and use the array as a replacement for the one now failing. Until the swap can be performed, nighttime images from the nest box will be grainier than usual.
8:41 PM76 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 27 minutes
8:49 PM77 F Female exits the nest box
8:52 PM76 F Male delivers a larger gecko directly to the owlet, since the female is absent. The owlet swallows it with surprising ease, considering that he began swallowing it sideways.
8:59 PM76 F Female returns after an absence of 10 minutes. She presents a small insect to the owlet.
9:01 PM76 F Female possibly feeds little dollops of something to the owlet. She seems to have dug them, or their source, out of the bedding material near the camera compartment glass. I don't have a clue about this.
9:41 PM76 F Female exits the nest box, returning 11 minutes later at 9:52 PM
9:54 PM75 F Female presents the owlet with a small insect, then exits the nest box
10:26 PM73 F Male delivers a small moth to the owlet, who attempts to swallow it backwards, fails, and accidentaly drops it. The moth walks away.
10:35 PM73 F Male delivers another insect. The owlet manages to swallow this one.
11:05 PM71 F The female returns to the nest box after an absence of 71 minutes
11:06 PM70 F Male delivers an insect, which the female presents to the owlet

April 13 - Maintenance and portrait day.

As last year's viewers are likely to recall, a serious food shortage induced me to disturb the female owl every night by delivering mice to the nest box. This prevented her, in the nick of time, from having to abandon her eggs due to starvation, and later kept the owlets growing steadily. Vital as the food proved to be, the female owl seriously disliked the disturbances, and consequently took to exiting the nest box any time she heard my back door open after dark.

This year's female continued that tradition for the first week or two of nesting, which has led me to believe that it's the same owl. That being the case, and because, as far as she knows, none of her owlets survived last year (in fact, after receiving medical treatment, two did), I've wanted to disturb her as little as possible this year, just to give her a quiet year, for a change. Nonetheless, I also wanted to check a critical nest box support that had begun to worry me (it was perfect), clean the camera compartment glass (it'd been accumulating grunge for seven weeks), replace the soiled bedding material (not really necessary, but nice when the opportunity presents itself), and photograph the owlet (it's only young once). So, as soon as the female left for her post-sunset constitutional, I did all of those things.

Eastern screech owl at 8.6 days:

CDTTemp.Description
12:11 AM68 F Male delivers a grasshopper. The female gives it to the owlet, who attempts to swallow it sideways, which doesn't work. Mom and owlet repeat this exercise at least four times before the owlet finally happens to accept the grasshopper head-first.
1:43 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko. The female presents it to the owlet, who swallows it with ease.
2:16 AM66 F Male delivers a gecko. After three or four tries, the owlet finally takes the lizard-head first from Mom.
3:09 AM64 F Male delivers a small bird. The female spends 5 minutes feeding pieces of the bird to the owlet before she stores the remainder in a corner.
3:47 AM63 F Female resumes feeding portions of the small bird to the owlet. When that's done, the female devotes four or five minutes to preening the owlet, and the owlet seems to make intermittent reciprocal gestures.
4:00 AM63 F Female exits the nest box, returning 58 minutes later. Upon return, her facial disk is wet, so she's used some of her time away to take a bath.
5:54 AM63 F Male delivers a small bird, but insists on a tussle for possession to signal that he wants to share the kill. The female tussles, but not enough to take the bird from him, so he exits with the bird. The female does not follow, so he'll know it's alright to consume the whole thing, if he wishes.
6:42 AM63 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes, then exits the nest box. She returns 16 minutes later, at 6:50 AM.
7:02 AM63 F Sunrise
morning63-73 F A cluster of at least eight starling visits between 8:45 and 9:50 AM, and a further cluster between 11:35 and 11:43 AM. No obvious entries.
3:52 PM82 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute
4:15 PM82 F Female sits in the entryway for 26 minutes
5:07 PM83 F Female sits in the entryway for 9 minutes
5:36 PM88 F Female sits in the entryway for 3 minutes
6:13 PM87 F Female sits in the entryway for 4 minutes
7:36 PM80 F Female sits in the entryway for 8 minutes
afternoon73-88 F Female intermittently occupies the entryway throughout the late afternoon. Only one starling visit shortly after noon.
7:56 PM78 F Sunset
8:09 PM80 F Female sits in the entryway for 4 minutes, then exits the nest box
8:19 PM75 F I bring down the nest box while the female is away, in order to check on a critical nest box support (it was perfect), replace the soiled bedding material, clean the camera compartment glass (for the first time in 7 weeks), and photograph the owlet. The owlet found the whole episode of no interest; I barely rated a glance. The only way it could have cared less would have been to sleep through the entire event. The nest box was back in the tree in 11 minutes, at 8:30 PM.
8:46 PM75 F Female returns to the nest box, somewhat hesitantly. She has a good, long stare at the owlet, and the cleaned interior, then stares some more. When she does enter the nest box two minutes later, she does so inverted. She must have observed some of my visit to the nest box, and the stress has put her off her game for the moment. Still, a screech owl will not abandon an owlet, so there was no question of her returning to the nest box, and, having returned, she settles into her old routine soon enough.
8:48 PM74 F The male isn't off his game at all; no sooner has the female entered the nest box than the male is delivering a bird. After a brief tussle, he relingquished the kill to her, and when he leaves, she follows with the bird. She returns 6 minutes later, at 8:55 PM.
10:27 PM73 F Female exits the nest box, returning with a small bird 6 minutes later, at 10:33 PM. She spends the next 11 minutes feeding pieces to the owlet.
10:56 PM71 F Female exits the nest box while carrying the remainder of the small bird. She returns empty-beaked 8 minutes later, at 11:04 PM. It's safe to assume she's swallowed the bird from the comfort of a favorite perch in the area.

April 12 - The owlet's eyes are beginning to open. No big food deliveries, but no food problem, either. Otherwise, not a very interesting day, apart from Mme. Owl posing on the perch for some nice photos around 5:10 PM.

CDTTemp.Description
12:25 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko. The female gives it to the owlet.
12:56 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko. The owlet isn't hungry, so the female sets aside the lizard.
1:27 AM63 F The owlet accepts the gecko, after refusing it at least four times
1:40 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko. The owlet isn't hungry, so the female sets aside the lizard. (This is one well fed junior screech owl.)
3:47 AM62 F Female tries yet again to convince the owlet to eat the gecko, and this time she succeeds
4:35 AM59 F Female retrieves the cedar waxwing from its storage corner, feeds the owlet, and swallows the remainder herself
4:38 AM59 F Female sits in the entryway for two minutes, then exits the nest box.
4:52 AM58 F Male delivers a grasshopper to the owlet, then exits
4:54 AM58 F Female returns to the nest box, after an absence of 14 minutes
6:52 AM56 F Female sits in the entryway for 3 minutes, before returning to the owlet. She will have no food cache for the daylight hours.
7:03 AM56 F Sunrise
morning56-70F Quiet morning, except for a cluster of bird visits (presumably starlings) between 11:04 and 11:10 AM. No evidence of entries.
4:53 PM85 F Female sits in the entryway for 16 minutes, then spends 4 minutes sitting on the perch, for a change. Once she's tired of that, she sits beside the owlet on the nest box floor. At these temperatures, there's no need for her to sit on the owlet.
5:33 PM90 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes
6:00 PM90 F Female sits in the entryway for 8 minutes
7:28 PM81 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes
7:52 PM79 F Female sits in the entryway for 23 minutes, before exiting the nest box at 8:15 PM
afternoon70-90 F Starlings landing in the entryway seem to have provoked the female to sit guard duty in the entryway
7:56 PM79 F Sunset
8:33 PM78 F Male delivers a hawk moth to the owlet, then he exits. The owlet keeps trying to swallow the hummingbird-sized moth backend-first, which always runs afoul of its wings. After each failed attempt, the owlet drops the moth, spends some time ignoring it, then tries again, repeating the same mistake. After about four iterations, the owlet gives-up on the moth.
8:38 PM77 F Female returns to the nest box after an absence of 23 minutes. She promptly sets about feeding the hawk moth to the owlet, but the owlet may not have been very hungry, because she eats some of it herself.
8:50 PM76 F Male delives a gecko. A minute later, the female exits the nest box while carrying the lizard. She returns 8 minutes later, at 8:59 PM. She begins searching the box for food, and seems to find something she'd cached. (I thought she'd exhausted her cache before sunrise, but evidently not.) Whatever she has, she spends 4 minutes feeding pieces of it to the owlet.
10:21 PM73 F Female spends 2 minutes sitting in the entryway, then the male arrives to deliver a gecko. The female spends four minutes feeding the lizard to the owlet.
10:27 PM73 F Male delivers an insect, possibly a cockroach. The female spends the next 6 minutes feeding that, and the remainder of the gecko, to the owlet
11:23 PM72 F Male delivers a caterpillar to the female, who gives it to the owlet, who swallows it with ease

April 11 - The starlings resumed their incursions into the nest box this afternoon, but Mme. Owl was having none of it. She spent much of the afternoon sitting guard duty in the entryway. Otherwise, things have been good. The weather has been warm, and food is plentiful. In fact, "plentiful" is putting it mildly; the male's expert hunting skills allowed him to deliver five birds in a little over six hours. In six years of observing nesting here, I have never seen a screech owl that could hunt half as well as this fellow. Mme. Owl chose her mate well.

CDTTemp.Description
12:05 AM63 F Male delivers a cedar waxwing. The female takes it with enthusiasm, and immediately begins feeding pieces of it to the owlet. The feeding lasts 6 minutes, then the bird is stored in a corner.
12:51 AM58 F Male delivers a small bird. Once again, the male makes no request to share the kill, the female accepts the prey eagerly, and she immediately sets about feeding herself and the owlet. After four minutes the female stores the remainder of the bird in another corner of the nest box.
1:35 AM57 F Female feeds the owlet portions of the small bird for 7 minutes
2:39 AM57 F Male delivers a small bird. Indicating that he wants to share the kill, he makes the female take it from him in a little tug-of-war. Having portions of two birds already cached in the nest box, the female doesn't hesitate to share the latest delivery, and follows the male out of the nest box. She returns 7 minutes later, at 2:46 AM.
2:47 AM56 F Female spends 7 minutes feeding pieces of the stored cedar waxwing to the owlet
4:14 AM56 F Male delivers a small bird, but his well-fed mate takes only a polite interest in the offering, and he exits the nest box carrying the bird
4:15 AM56 F Female spends a few minutes feeding portions of the small bird to herself and the owlet, before she swallows the remainder
6:16 AM53 F Male delivers a small bird. There is a little tug-of-war for possession, but the female, who ends-up with the bird, does not follow the male out of the nest box. Instead she begins feeding the owlet. [QuickTime; 2.3MB] She seems determined to keep most of the cedar waxwing in reserve. A food cache, after all, means freedom from hunger to an owl, and, most particularly, her offspring. The feeding lasts four minutes, then the female stores the remainder of the small bird in a corner.
6:53 AM53 F Female sits in the entryway for 3 minutes before exiting. She returns 2 minutes later, at 6:58 AM. She then spends several minutes moving the remains of the small bird and cedar waxwing to different corners of the box. I have no idea why.
7:04 AM54 F Sunrise
8:20 AM54 F Female spends several minutes feeding portions of the small bird to the owlet
8:43 AM54 F Female spends some time feeding portions of the cedar waxwing to the owlet. Presumably the small bird was finished-off by the 8:20 AM feeding.
morning54-69 F At least 10 recorded starling visits. The female seems to have discouraged an actual entries into the box, but only just. Presumably, the afternoon will be worse.
3:51 PM80 F After several starling entries, the female decides to sit in the entryway. She remains there for 21 minutes.
4:36 PM83 F Female returns to the entryway for 6 minutes
5:24 PM87 F Female returns to the entryway for 3 minutes
6:14 PM83 F Female returns to the entryway for 3 minutes
6:27 PM81 F Female returns to the entryway for 6 minutes
7:19 PM78 F Female returns to the entryway for 28 minutes
afternoon69-87 F The afternoon was worse than the morning; the starlings resumed their incursions into the nest box, and Mme. Owl chose to prevent additional incursions by sitting guard duty in the entryway off-and-on for much of the afternoon.
7:55 PM75 F Sunset
8:12 PM74 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute before exiting the nest box.
8:37 PM73 F Male delivers a grasshopper. Finding the female absent, he presents it directly to the owlet, and, for the first time, the owlet is able to eat one of his offerings.
8:48 PM73 F Female returns to the nest box, after 36 minutes
8:55 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko, giving it to his mate after a very short tugging match (basically one good tug). Carrying the lizard, she follows him out of the nest box, returning 8 minutes later, at 9:03 PM.
10:01 PM68 F Female spends 5 minutes feeding portions of the cedar waxwing to the owlet. She stores the remainder against the camera compartment glass.
10:35 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko, which the female carefully presents to the owlet. With a bit of work and time, the owlet manages to swallow the whole lizard. [QuickTime; 3.2MB]
11:37 PM65 F Male delivers a gecko, which the female presents to the owlet. On the first try, the owlet takes it head-first (the only way to safely swallow anything, if you're an owl), and gulps-down the lizard easily.

April 10 - Another quiet day. Two notable developments: (1) The female owl has begun to hunt for the owlet. This is normal when the owlets in a clutch become large enough to regulate their own body temperatures, or when warm weather allows owlets to be left alone safely for the duration of a hunt. (2) The owlet is now strong and coordinated enough to sit upright more-or-less dependably.

CDTTemp.Description
1:14 AM50 F Male delivers a caterpillar. The female gives it to the owlet.
2:11 AM48 F Female exits the nest box, returning 11 minutes later, at 2:22 AM
3:15 AM47 F Female spends ten minutes feeding to the owlet pieces of the small bird delivered yesterday at 10:29 PM. This seems to have been the last of the bird.
6:48 AM43 F Hearing the pre-dawn bird chorus outside, the female exits the nest box. She returns 4 minutes later carrying a small bird, pieces of which she immediately begins feeding to the owlet. The feeding lasts about 8 minutes. The remainder of the bird is stored in a corner.
7:07 AM42 F Sunrise
morning42-66 F Only one recorded bird visit
afternoon66-81 F Seven recorded visits, some of them certainly by starlings, but no entries
7:47 PM73 F Female sits in the entryway for 18 minutes. (Note that the owlet can now sit upright fairly reliably. This is a recent development.)
7:54 PM73 F Sunset
8:08 PM73 F Female sits in the entryway for 1 minute
8:10 PM73 F Female exits the nest box
8:25 PM72 F Male delivers a small bird. Since the female isn't around, he offers it directly to the enthusiastic owlet, who isn't much bigger than the bird he's expected to swallow. After a minute, the male gives-up and exits the nest box carrying the bird.
8:28 PM72 F Male re-delivers the small bird to the owlet. [QuickTime; 2.2MB] He meets with no more success this time than he did three minutes earlier. You have to admire his dedication, though. He exits the nest box a minute later, carrying the bird.
8:45 PM69 F Female arrives with a moth, which she feeds to the owlet. She has obviously taken a bath during her absence.
9:21 PM66 F Male delivers a gecko. The female promptly begins feeding pieces of it to the owlet. The process lasts about 6 minutes.
10:33 PM64 F Female sits in the entryway for 3 minutes, then exits the nest box. She returns 8 minutes later, at 10:41 PM, carrying a small prey item, presumably an insect. Needless to say, she feeds it to the owlet.

April 9 - A mercifully quiet day. Nice change.

CDTTemp.Description
12:18 AM54 F Male delivers a gecko. The female accepts it, but does nothing with it; the lizard hangs from her beak for the next 15 minutes, almost as if she'd forgotten about it. Around 12:32 she stores it in a corner.
2:57 AM46 F Male delivers a caterpillar. The female accepts it, but leaves it dangling from her beak for several minutes, before it disappears. Not sure what became of it.
3:03 AM47 F Male delivers another caterpillar. The female accepts it and sets it aside. She picks-up the gecko and offers it to the owlet, but doesn't get quite the response she's hoping for. Presumably the owlet is well fed, and therefore not remarkably hungry. All the same, by 3:07 AM she is feeding the lizard to the owlet.
3:20 AM48 F Male delivers a caterpillar, apparently of the same species as the others. He must have found a concentration of them somewhere in the neighborhood. The female offers it to the owlet, but the youngster shows little interest, so she eats it.
3:31 AM47 F Male delivers the fourth caterpillar since midnight. Again, same apparent species as the others. Not sure who ate it.
4:59 AM46 F Male delivers caterpillar no. 5, and the female immediately offers it to the owlet, who swallows it whole.
5:20 AM43 F Male delivers a plump cedar waxwing. The female accepts it without hesitation, and the male exits the nest box as quickly as he came. The female sets about tearing pieces from the bird, and feeding the owlet, as well as herself. This goes on until 5:34 AM, when she places the remainder of the bird in a corner.
6:36 AM42 F Female sits in the entryway, or stares out of it, for 11 minutes before exiting the nest box. She returns 5 minutes later, at 6:52 AM.
7:07 AM42 F Sunrise
morning42-60 F Only one bird visit (not sure if it was a starling or house sparrow), and no apparent entry. Owlet is fed portions of the cedar waxwing one or more times between 9:11 and 10:47 AM.
afternoon60-82 F Five recorded visits. Owlet is fed portions of the cedar waxwing around 1:10, 3:17, 4:32 and 6:38 PM. By 6:49 PM, the cedar waxwing has disappeared. Starlings make 5 recorded visits, but don't appear to have entered the box.
7:53 PM68 F Female sits in the entryway for 7 minutes
7:54 PM68 F Sunset
8:22 PM65 F Male delivers a tiny gecko. The female gives it to the owlet who swallows it easily.
9:42 PM58 F Male delivers a caterpillar. Female immediately feeds it to the owlet.
10:29 PM57 F Male delivers a small bird. Female sets about feeding pieces of it to the owlet. At 10:34 PM, she stores the remainder of it in a corner.
11:06 PM53 F Female resumes feeding pieces of the small bird to the owlet. This lasts 2 minutes, then the bird is stored in a corner again.
11:43 PM52 F Male delivers a caterpillar, which the female immediately feeds to the owlet, who swallows it whole
11:45 PM52 F Female resumes feeding pieces of the small bird to the owlet. This continues until 11:51....
11:51 PM53 F Male delivers a caterpillar, which the female eats.
11:53 PM53 F Female stores the small bird in a corner

April 8 - Starling visits decreased this morning, relative to yesterday, and seem to have stopped in the afternoon. House sparrows arrived to take up the slack, but Mme. Owl paid them little attention.

A note about owlet feedings: Mme. Owl often eats along with the owlet as it fills-up and begins to eat relatively slowly. So, wherever the log says she was feeding the owlet, it's usually the case that she had a bit to eat, too. I can't reliably quantify who gets how much, so I won't even try.

CDTTemp.Description
1:46 AM64 F Male delivers a cedar waxwing. The female accepts it with enthusiasm, and immediately begins feeding pieces of it to the owlet. She concludes the feeding 7 minutes later, then sets the remainder of the bird aside.
3:10 AM63 F Female resumes feeding the cedar waxwing to the owlet. She concludes 21 minutes later, and places the remainder of the bird in a corner for later.
3:59 AM62 F Female resumes feeding the cedar waxwing to the owlet. She concludes 5 minutes later, and places the remainder of the bird in a corner for later.
4:35 AM60 F Male delivers a small bird. There's a spirited tussel for possession before the male relinquishes the kill to his mate. He exits the nest box and she follows. (Note the partially illuminated lump in the lower-left corner: that's the remains of the cedar waxwing.) She returns at 4:40 AM.
4:58 AM60 F Male delivers a small bird, sans head. He spends a minute offering it to his mate over an over again, but she takes only a polite interest. He leaves with the bird.
6:02 AM58 F Male delivers the remaining half of the bird delivered at 4:58 AM. The female accepts it quickly, and spends the next 4 minutes feeding pieces of it to the owlet.
7:06 AM56 F Female climbs into the entryway, and sits there for 3 minutes before going to back to sitting on the owlet.
7:08 AM56 F Sunrise
morning56-58 F At least 17 recorded starling visits, and a significant number of fights
1:34 PM61 F Female spends 7 minutes feeding pieces of the cedar waxwing to the owlet
afternoon58-63 F House sparrows begin visiting the nest box, supplanting the starlings, at least for this afternoon. No house sparrows appear to enter the box, and Mme. Owl shows little interest in their visits. Starlings and house sparrows are the only birds that seem willing to interfere with a nesting screech owl (leaving aside the raptors large enough to eat a screech owl). I've also never seen them mob an owl, which any native songbird would do. It seems that these two non-native bird species lack the instinctive enmity for owls possessed by our native birds.
7:51 PM63 F Female sits in the entryway for 7 minutes
7:53 PM63 F Sunset
8:12 PM63 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute, then exits the nest box. She returns 11 minutes later, at 8:24 PM.
8:58 PM59 F Male delivers a bird, which the female accepts enthusiastically, while the owlet flails excitedly beneath her. She spends the next 16 minutes feeding the owlet, before setting aside in a corner the remainder of the bird.
10:17 PM58 F Female exits the nest box carrying the remains of the bird she set aside earlier. She returns 5 minutes later, at 10:22 PM. Four to five minutes is the amount of time she usually needs in order to swallow a large prey item, so that's probably exactly what she just did.
11:17 PM57 F Male delivers a caterpillar, which the female accepts with enthusiasm. She spends a minute trying to feed it to the owlet, who doesn't seem interested, before she swallows it.

April 7

CDTTemp.Description
12:05 AM67 F Male delivers a bird similar to the one delivered yesterday at 10:04 PM, albeit with some pieces missing. He leaves it behind without hesitation. Might be the same bird. Might not. The female feeds portions of the bird to the owlet for 10 minutes, then sets the remainder aside in a corner.
1:13 AM65 F Female picks-up the remains of the bird and leaves the nest box. She returns 10 minutes later, at 1:23 AM, without the bird.
1:59 AM63 F Male delivers a new sparrow-sized bird. There's the sort of tussle for possession that seems to say "come out and share it with me", then the male exits carrying the bird. The female does not follow.
2:26 AM63 F Female spends 1 minute sitting in the entryway, then exits. She returns 10 minutes later, at 2:35 AM.
3:54 AM66 F Male delivers a sparrow-sized bird, which appears to be missing its head. He leaves it without hesitation. His mate promptly begins feeding pieces of it to the owlet. She spends about 7 minutes on the feeding, then she places the leftovers in a corner for later.
4:14 AM66 F Female spends 12 minutes feeding more of the bird to the owlet
5:09 AM68 F Female exits carrying the remainder of the bird. She returns 5 minutes later, at 5:14 AM, without the bird. Four to five minutes is the length of time she usually requires to swallow a large food item like this.
5:33 AM68 F Male delivers a headless bird, probably a cedar waxwing. There's a brief tussle, but the female shows no particular enthusiasm. He drops it at her feet, but she doesn't take. After thinking about it for a while, the male takes the bird and exits the nest box. The female stays behind.
6:42 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 2 minutes later with a portion of a bird. She feeds the owlet pieces for 5 minutes before setting it aside in a corner.
7:09 AM68 F Sunrise
7:39 AM68 F Female spends 5 minutes feeding pieces of the stored bird to the owlet
morning86-76 F Worst morning of starling activity yet. Too many visits to be worth counting. I lost count of how many fights there were, because the fights often happened within seconds of the previous one. [QuickTime; 0.9MB] Between fights, Mme. Owl seemed relaxed, but it had to have been tiring.
afternoon76-92 F Oddly enough, the starlings ceased their assault on the nest box during the lunch hour, but picked-up where they left-off shortly afterward. There were at least 31 recorded visits, and most of those probably resulted in fights.
7:18 PM83 F Female sits in entryway for 7 minutes, apparently as a starling deterrent
7:48 PM81 F After some tentative starling visits (but no entries), the female returns to the entryway for 6 minutes
7:52 PM79 F Sunset
7:59 PM78 F Female sits in the entryway for 9 minutes before exiting
8:19 PM77 F Male delivers a gecko. Finding the owlet unattended and responding to his vocalizations with the standard "feed me" screeches and squeaks (for lack of a better description) he offers it the lizard himself. The owlet is enthusiastic about being fed, but can't do anything with the lizard because it is too large for him to swallow. As is normal for male screech owls, they have no idea that food has to be torn into small pieces when feeding young owlets. This behavior just seems to be missing from their catalog of instincts.

After a minute of this hopeless, but well-intentioned effort, the female arrives carrying a small insect, which she feeds to the owlet. The male exits carrying the gecko.

8:35 PM76 F Female sits in the entryway for 7 minutes before returning to the owlet
8:58 PM76 F Female sits in the entryway for 1 minute before exiting. She returns 25 minutes later, at 9:24 PM.
9:49 PM74 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes before exiting. She returns 5 minutes later, at 9:56 PM.
9:56 PM74 F Male delivers a new gecko, and once again finds the owlet unattended, so he attempts to feed it to the owlet, with predictable non-results. The hopeless, but well intentioned, character of this scene is best appreciated in movie form. [QuickTime; 2.2MB] After hearing something outside, the male exits at 9:59 PM.
9:59 PM74 F The female enters four seconds after the male exits. She is carrying a large grasshopper, which she spends the next 9 minutes tearing apart and feeding to the owlet.
10:28 PM73 F Male delivers a cricket. The female carefully presents the cricket to the owlet several times over the next two minutes, until it finally manages to swallow the bug.
10:34 PM72 F Male delivers a gecko. The female sets it aside in a corner for later.
11:01 PM70 F Male delivers a gecko. The female spends the next 8 minutes feeding it to the owlet.
11:56 PM67 F Female collects the reserve gecko from the corner and feeds some of it to the owlet

April 6 - The owlet gives every indication of being strong & healthy. The owlet is being well fed, and can already swallow about half a mid-sized gecko with relative ease. So far, so good.

CDTTemp.Description
12:26 AM CST73 F Male delivers a gecko, which the female swallows
1:16 AM CST73 F Male delivers a gecko. Female follows him out of the nest box 2 minutes later, carrying the lizard. She returns 6 minutes later at 1:24 AM CST.
2:00 AM73 F Central Daylight Time (CDT) begins
5:16 AM73 F Male delivers a gecko. Female feeds it to the owlet.
6:51 AM72 F Female sits in the entryway for 6 minutes, then exits the nest box. She returns 8 minutes later, at 7:05 AM.
7:10 AM72 F Sunrise
morning72-74 F At least 12 starling visits were recorded. There were many skirmishes.
afternoon73-97 F At least 25 starling visits were recorded. There were many skirmishes.
7:25 PM87 F Female sits in the entryway for ~15 seconds
7:38 PM83 F Female sits in the entryway for 6 minutes
7:45 PM83 F Some quality time between Mme. Owl and the owlet. [QuickTime; 0.8MB] (Or there's this still.)
7:52 PM83 F Sunset
7:55 PM83 F Female sits in the entryway for 16 minutes
8:15 PM83 F Female exits nest box, returning 17 minutes later, at 8:32 PM.
8:49 PM78 F Female sits in entryway for 1 minute, then exits nest box. She returns 2 minutes later, at 8:52 PM.
9:14 PM74 F Male delivers a gecko. Female feeds it to the owlet. [QuickTime; 0.8MB]
10:04 PM73 F Male delivers a house sparrow. The female wants it, but the male hangs onto it in order to signal that he wants to share the kill. He leaves carrying the sparrow, but the female doesn't follow. At 5 after midnight, the male will return to the nest box carrying a similar bird, albeit with some pieces missing, which he will leave behind without hesitation.

April 5 - The remaining egg hatched this morning. In view of the fact that its period of incubation lasted 23 days (assuming this was the second egg; 26 days if it was the first), it suddenly seems almost certain that the hole seen in the other egg two days ago wasn't the result of damage sustained during a fight with a starling, but an indication that it had begun to hatch. If so, we can safely assume that it was the first egg, and that the owlet within wasn't healthy enough to complete the process, or even progress to a stage at which its mother could assist it.

Employing those assumptions, and doing more accurate calculations, we find that the incubation period was 23.9 days for egg no. 1 (March 10, 2:54 PM to April 3, 12:00 PM), and 22.6 days for egg no. 2 (March 13, 12:15 PM to April 5, 5:59 AM). I find this to be very interesting, because in Gehlbach's decades of study he observed periods of 28.5 to 32.1 days for the first egg in a clutch. Gehlbach does note that 26 days was the usual length of incubation cited in the literature prior to his study, but the incubations we've just witnessed are significantly shorter even than that figure.

This is one of the pleasures of doing science (amatuer, or otherwise): You never know when you're going to learn something, even if you may not know quite what to make of it when you do.

CSTTemp.Description
12:35 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko
3:33 AM68 F Female sits in the entryway, revealing that there's a hole in the egg. Hatching is underway. After a minute in the entryway, the female exits the nest box. She returns 7 minutes later, at 3:41 AM, at which time she pauses in the entryway to study the egg.
4:53 AM68 F Female exits the nest box, returning 5 minutes later, at 4:58 AM.
5:34 AM67 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute, then returns to brooding
5:59 AM67 F Hatching is complete, and the female begins to consume the egg shell fragments
6:11 AM68 F Sunrise
morning68-79 F At least 11 recorded starling visits, and several entries. The fact that she's sitting on a hatchling hasn't tempered Mme. Owl's determination to fight any starling that enters the nest box.
afternoon79-90 F At least 10 recorded starling visits, and several entries complete with vigorous fights
6:47 PM78 F Female sits in the entryway for 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the commotion of a child's birthday party in the yard next door. Meanwhile the owlet crawls around on the floor, providing ample proof of its strength. By now, it must be a hungry hatchling, because it hasn't been fed in its entire life, all ~13 hours of it.
6:51 PM78 F Sunset
7:10 PM78 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute, then exits the next box, returning 4 minutes later, at 7:15 PM.
7:22 PM77 F Male delivers a gecko. This would be his first opportunity to learn that he has a descendant.
7:25 PM77 F Male delivers another gecko, so the female swallows the portion of the previous gecko she hasn't fed to the owlet.
7:46 PM77 F Male delivers a gecko. After thinking it over for several minutes, the female swallows it.
8:42 PM77 F Male delivers a nice, big hawk moth. It takes him a while to convince his mate to accept it. Once she does, she rather cluelessly attempts to feed it whole to the owlet. The first day with a hatchling often has awkward moments like this, as if the female needs a bit of time to remind herself of the habit of tearing apart prey items for owlets too small to swallow them whole. As best I can tell, she goes on to eat the moth, herself.
9:10 PM75 F Male delivers a gecko. This one is torn apart and fed to the owlet. (No useful views of any of the feedings, unfortunately.)
11:10 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko. The female feeds pieces of it to the owlet, then eats the remaining half herself. (Once again, no useful views.)
11:25 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko. His mate swallows it.

April 4 - The quietest day since March 27; only 3 starling visits. Not much in the way of food deliveries, either, but Mme. Owl seems perfectly satisfied with the situation.

CSTTemp.Description
12:20 AM68 F Female climbs to the entryway, spends 30 seconds staring out of it, then a minute studying her remaining egg
1:13 AM68 F Female exits nest box, returning 14 minutes later, at 1:27 AM.
3:39 AM68 F Male delivers a mystery bug
4:15 AM67 F Male delivers a large caterpillar (probably)
4:20 AM67 F Mme. Owl develops an interest in the contents of the side camera compartment, but finds her curiousity frustrated by the pane of glass that keeps the cameras out of harm's way. Under the circumstances, a thorough examination of the glass is in order. [QuickTime; 1.3MB] A minute later, she repeats the examination.
5:21 AM67 F Male delivers big (beautiful) hawk moth
5:53 AM66 F Female spends 5 minutes sitting in the entryway
6:12 AM68 F Sunrise
6:26 AM66 F Female resumes her investigation of the camera compartment glass
morning66-78 F The entryway sensor shows only two starling visits. No evidence that they entered the box.
afternoon78-95 F Only one starling visit
6:51 PM83 F Sunset
6:53 PM83 F Female sits in entryway for 5 minutes
7:13 PM80 F Female sits in entryway for a minute, then exits nest box. She returns 8 minutes later, at 7:22 PM.
8:30 PM76 F Male delivers something
11:33 PM74 F Male delivers a cockroach

April 3 - One egg lost, one remaining. One of the eggs seems to have been damaged during a fight with a starling shortly after noon. At 3:53 PM, Mme. Owl decided the egg was dead, crushed it, and consumed the pieces in order to reclaim the nutrients that went into making it, especially the calcium in its shell. The last view of the egg clearly shows a hole in its shell. There's no telling which egg was lost, so the date when hatching will begin (and conclude) is more uncertain than ever due to the four day difference in their ages.

If Mme. Owl's misfortune is compounded by the loss of the remaining egg, she and her mate will almost certainly try again. Unfortunately, Gehlbach has found that 66% of renests occur in different nest sites.

CSTTemp.Description
12:48 AM65 F Male delivers a cockroach
2:17 AM67 F Female exits nest box, returning 15 minutes later, at 2:32 AM.
3:21 AM67 F Male delivers half of a small bird. The female accepts it and encourages him to leave the nest box, so she can leave, too. She takes the half-a-bird with her, returning 6 minutes later at 3:28 AM.
5:12 AM65 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later, at 5:16 AM.
6:14 AM66 F Sunrise
morning66-72 F At least 11 recorded starling visits, and plenty of entries, all repulsed
afternoon72-82 F A constant progression of starling visits from noon to 12:10 PM. Two visits, without entry, around 1:40 PM.
5:40 PM79 F Something worries the female enough that she spends 5 minutes sitting in the entrway.
6:50 PM74 F Sunset
6:59 PM74 F Female climbs into entryway, and spends 4 minutes staring out.
7:12 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 6 minutes before exiting the nest box. She returns 33 minutes later, at 7:51 PM.
8:22 PM73 F Male shows-up with some sort of insect (there've been some beautiful nocturnal hawk moths in my little meadow beneath the nest box tonight; might have been one of those), but the female shows little interest, and the male backs out of the entryway with the bug.
8:47 PM71 F Female seems worried about something outside. Her concern abates after a minute, and she returns to brooding.
9:10 PM71 F Female climbs into the entryway, and sits there for 2 minutes, before returning to brooding.
11:04 PM68 F Male makes another abortive bug delivery, just as he did at 8:22 PM.
11:35 PM67 F Female exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later, at 11:41 PM.

April 2 - The starlings are even more aggressive than yesterday. For now, Mme. Owl never fails to engage the starlings and force them out, but I wonder if she'll be able to do so once she has hatchlings to protect.

CSTTemp.Description
12:18 AM61 F Female exits the nest box, returning 5 minutes later at 12:23 AM
1:59 AM59 F Male delivers a small bird, then leaves. His mate follows after him, carrying the bird. She returns 6 minutes later, at 2:05 AM.
5:27 AM58 F Female exits the nest box, returning 15 minutes later at 5:42 AM
6:15 AM58 F Sunrise
morning58-71 F 23 recorded starling visits, and probably as many entries, all forceably repelled. Like yesterday, the starlings arrive bearing nest-building material.
afternoon71-83 F At least 10 recorded starling visits, including one that resulted in a fight violent and sustained enough that the eggs were sent rolling across the nest box floor, where they came to rest against the camera compartment glass. Eggs are pretty tough, but I have to wonder if Mme. Owl will be willing to risk these engagements once there's a hatchling.
6:40 PM75 F Female sits in the entryway for 4 minutes
6:49 PM F Sunset
7:00 PM73 F Female sits in the entryway for 15 minutes before exiting the nest box. She returns 17 minutes later, at 7:32 PM.
8:00 PM70 F Male arrives in the entryway, but leaves again almost immediately. No food delivery.

April 1 - (No fooling!) Violent clashes with starlings throughout the morning and late afternoon, right up to sunset. No large food deliveries. So, big trouble, small pay-off. Mme. Owl takes it all in her stride, however.

CSTTemp.Description
3:31 AM54 F Female exits the nest box, returning 10 minutes later at 3:41 AM
5:54 AM52 F Female exits the nest box, returning 6 minutes later at 6:00 AM
6:16 AM54 F Sunrise
morning54-69 F At least five fights with starlings, several every bit as serious as the worst of yesterday. An added wrinkle: At times the starlings brought nest-building material with them. What passes for logic in the starling mind? It seems to go something like this: "Every time we go on in that box, the big, dangerous bird on the floor attacks us. So, where's a safe place to nest? I've got it! The box with the big, dangerous thing on the floor. Naturally." One track minds. Very, very small, one track minds.
afternoon69-88 F No starling visits until 4:30, but they continued until sunset again, resulting in a number of fights.
6:49 PM72 F Sunset
7:05 PM72 F Female sits in entryway for 10 minutes, then exits the nest box. She returns 14 minutes later, at 7:29 PM.
8:12 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko
9:47 PM64 F Male delivers a gecko
10:11 PM63 F Male delivers a mystery bug
11:03 PM63 F Male delivers a mystery bug

March 31 - Starling activity is off the charts, endangering Mme. Owl and her eggs. On a positive note, the male has delivered the largest kill yet.

CSTTemp.Description
2:27 AM50 F Female exits the nest box, returning 6 minutes later at 2:33 AM
4:38 AM45 F Male delivers a small grub or caterpillar
4:50 AM45 F Male delivers a small grub or caterpillar
5:26 AM43 F Male delivers a caterpillar. (Male exiting.)
5:53 AM42 F Female exits the nest box, returning 3 minutes later at 5:55 AM
6:17 AM42 F Sunrise
morning42-70 F At least 19 starling visits. The starlings were forceably ejected repeatedly, but without making any obvious impression on their gray matter.
afternoon70-85 F At least 12 starling visits, and many forceable ejections. Even Mme. Owl seems taken aback by the boldness of the starlings. [QuickTime; 0.4MB] One explanation is that the starling in question is a female who is desperate to lay her eggs. Without a cavity in which to lay those eggs, they're doomed. Considering what this introduced species does to our native cavity nesting species, that's the best news I've had all day. Once the starling's clutch is lost, Mme. Owl may finally get some peace and quiet during the day, which would be welcome, I expect.
6:48 PM73 F Sunset. Mme. Owl is, quite literally, fighting for possession of the nest box, and the safety of her eggs. [QuickTime; 0.5MB] It is remarkable to me that her talons were not able to seize and kill her attacker, but the chance of injury to her eyes from the starling's sharp beak may have prevented her from using her talons to best effect. Starling "visits" this late in the day--actually at sunset in this case--haven't happened before, which says something about how desperate this starling must be.
6:55 PM73 F Female spends 3 minutes in the entryway, before returning to brooding
7:03 PM73 F Female spends 2 minutes in the entryway, before returning to brooding
7:08 PM73 F Female spends 2 minutes in the entryway, then exits the nest box. She returns 12 minutes later at 7:22 PM.
7:45 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko
7:58 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko
8:19 PM66 F Male delivers a gecko
11:51 PM60 F Male delivers a mouse. [QuickTime; 2.4MB] It's the largest kill he has provided so far. His mate doesn't show much interest in the mouse, so he takes it with him when he exits. She follows a minute later, however, suggesting she wanted to share the mouse after all. She returns 6 minutes later, at 11:58 PM.

March 30 - Once again, the starlings are an annoyance during the day, while the male displays his excellent hunting skills by night. For now, he's providing more food than his mate needs, although it's safe to assume that whatever she doesn't eat, he does. Little, if anything, is wasted. Once the eggs begin hatching, sometime around April 9, he'll face a rapidly escalating challenge, but it looks as though he'll have no difficulty with it.

CSTTemp.Description
4:47 AM34 F Female exits the nest box, returning 12 minutes later at 4:59 AM
5:53 AM33 F Male delivers a bird, probably about the size of house sparrow. He repeatedly presents it to his mate, but she continues brooding the eggs, while showing only a mild interest in the kill which she does not take from him. The male gives-up and leaves carrying the bird. See the movie. [QuickTime; 2MB]
6:18 AM33 F Sunrise
morning33-62 F Starling visits between 7:30 and 9:11. Only on the final visit did a starling enter the nest box, and it was quickly persuaded to leave.
afternoon62-87 F Starling visits didn't resume until around 5:10 and they persisted for an hour. There was one quite forceable ejection of a starling at 5:43. [QuickTime; 0.4MB]
6:48 PM68 F Sunset
6:59 PM68 F Female spends a minute and a half sitting in the entryway
7:04 PM68 F Female spends a minute and a half sitting in the entryway, before she exits the nest box. She returns 6 minutes later at 7:11 PM.
8:07 PM63 F Male delivers a small bird, which his mate immediately accepts and begins to swallow.
9:25 PM59 F Male delivers a gecko

March 29 - With the male owl delivering two or three birds during these 24 hours, it's easy understand why most birds carry an ancient enmity for owls (and all birds of prey) in their instincts. Our screech owls are by no means free from similar dangers, however; any larger owl, or other bird of prey, would make a meal of them at the first opportunity, as would numerous other animals. At least as far as native species are concerned, all this is as it should be, of course. As Aldo Leopold labored to inform the world sixty or more years ago, an ecosystem is as much a product of the competitions between its members, as it is of the cooperations amongst them.

CSTTemp.Description
2:37 AM50 F Female exits the nest box, returning 4 minutes later at 2:41 AM.
2:50 AM49 F Female suddenly becomes alert and begins calling to her mate. She must have heard something in reply, because she exits the nest box, returning 16 minutes later at 3:06 AM.
3:17 AM49 F Male arrives carrying a small bird. He offers it to his mate, but she shows little interest. He persists in offering his kill to her, but she remains uninterested. Eventually he leaves carrying the bird. Presumably the female is well enough fed that she didn't need the food at this time, and confident enough in her mate's hunting skills that she didn't feel the need to cache the kill.
5:57 AM49 F Male delivers a small bird. (Is it the same bird as last time? It's hard to tell, but it seems slightly larger.) His mate show more interest than the last time, but is slow to accept the prey. All the same, she does accept it and shortly after he leaves, she follows with the bird in her mouth. I assume they share the kill when she does that. The female returns 5 minutes later, at 6:02 AM.
6:20 AM50 F Sunrise
morning50-58 F More than 10 significant starling visits, and at least three entries. The female makes her displeasure known quickly, and the starlings leave even more quickly than they came. Those that persist afterward in the entryway, receive a nip in the tail feathers to help them along.
afternoon58-67 F Only two recorded starling visits, and no apparent entries.
6:47 PM57 F Sunset
6:59 PM57 F Female climbs to the entryway, and sits there for a minute, before returning to her eggs
7:09 PM57 F Female returns to the entryway for 2 minutes, before exiting the nest box. She comes back 4 minutes later, at 7:15 PM.
8:21 PM52 F Male delivers a small moth
8:49 PM50 F Male delivers a good-sized caterpillar
9:14 PM49 F Male delivers another good-sized caterpillar
11:54 PM42 F Male delivers a mid-sized bird. [QuickTime; 2MB] His mate accepts it, and moves to leave the nest box. She has to nudge him from behind to tell him to leave, so she can follow. She returns 6 minutes later, at 12:01 AM.

March 28 - The starlings have nearly forgotten their lessons again, and so spent the morning peeking deep into the nest box. For some reason they lost interest during the afternoon. Food deliveries have been few, but every night the male provides one large food item for his mate, which means that Mme. Owl is well fed, and that her mate is the finest hunter I've observed in all the years of this screech owl cam'. This bodes well for the owlets to come, assuming the eggs in this year's strangely small clutch are healthy.

CSTTemp.Description
12:00 AM63 F Male delivers a mystery bug
1:56 AM63 F Female spends about 45 seconds in the entryway, then exits the nest box. She returns 12 minutes later, at 2:09 AM.
5:44 AM59 F Female spends about 30 seconds in the entryway, then exits the nest box. She returns 7 minutes later, at 5:51 AM.
6:21 AM58 F Sunrise
morning58-59 F The entryway sensor shows at least 12 starlings visits
afternoon59-75 F The entryway sensor shows only one visit
6:46 PM63 F Sunset
6:57 PM62 F Female spends 2 minutes in entryway
7:06 PM61 F Female spends a minute in entryway, then exits nest box. She returns 13 minutes later at 7:19 PM.
7:57 PM58 F Male delivers a bird, possibly a house sparrow. (Eat the introduced species; good choice.) There is no tug-of-war for possession; he gives it to her immediately, then returns to the entryway to exit. A minute later, with most of the bird projecting from her mouth, the female exits the nest box. She returns 5 minutes later, at 8:03 PM. Knowing that his mate is well fed, the male makes no further food deliveries today.

March 27 - The starlings appear to have retained the lesson from yesterday's owl armaments refresher course to the extent that the entryway sensor recorded only two visits all day. Unfortunately, past experience says that the lesson will fade from the starling brains within a day or two. As is so often the case, the truly stupid, like the truly committed, can be deterred only temporarily.

CSTTemp.Description
1:32 AM54 F Male delivers some sort of larger-than-normal insect. A cicada, perhaps?
4:05 AM54 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later, at 4:09 AM
5:30 AM56 F Male delivers a small, headless bird. His mate spends two minutes trying to swallow it, then exits the nest box with it. She returns 4 minutes later, at 5:36 AM.
6:22 AM58 F Sunrise
morning58-70 F Starlings visited a few times, but only once did they venture far enough in to trigger the entryway sensor. They did not enter the box proper.
afternoon70-88 F Only one starling visit that triggered the entryway sensor. So, a quiet afternoon, although Mme. Owl did seem to be listening closely to something outside the nest box from time to time.
6:46 PM78 F Sunset
6:49 PM78 F Female sits in the entryway for 3 minutes.
6:57 PM77 F Female sits in the entryway for 14 minutes before exiting the nest box. She returns 14 minutes later, at 7:25 PM.
10:30 PM66 F Male delivers an American cockroach
10:30 PM64 F Male delivers a mystery bug

March 26 - Starlings continue their attempts to claim the nest box, but Madame Owl provides these slow-learners with a refresher course in owl armaments. Sadly, her pupils escape, but in the process she does buy herself nearly nine hours of relative peace.

CSTTemp.Description
1:21 AM60 F Male delivers a mystery bug
1:24 AM59 F Male delivers a mystery bug
3:40 AM58 F Female climbs to entryway, spends about 30 seconds there, then exits the nest box. She returns 6 minutes later at 3:46 AM.
4:30 AM57 F Female exits nest box, returning about 30 seconds later
6:01 AM57 F Female exits nest box, returning 5 minutes later at 6:06 AM.
6:23 AM57 F Sunrise
morning57-70 F The female spent the morning vigorously defending her nest against starlings. At 8:34 AM she finally seems to have persuaded the starlings to leave her alone for the remainder of the day. [QuickTime; 0.4MB]
afternoon70-91 F No detectable starling visits
6:45 PM76 F Sunset
6:57 PM74 F Female sits in the entryway for 2 minutes
7:03 PM74 F Female sits in the entryway for 4 minutes, then exits the nest box. She returns 16 minutes later at 7:23 PM.
7:47 PM69 F Male delivers what might be a moth
7:49 PM69 F Male delivers a moth
10:27 PM58 F Male delivers a mystery bug
10:49 PM57 F Female exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later at 10:55 PM.
11:43 PM57 F Male delivers a small bird. In spite of some significant tug-of-war behavior to indicate that he wants to share the prey, the female, upon gaining control of the bird, begins to swallow it whole. She seems to have second thoughts about this shortly after her mate leaves, and, with 3/4 of the bird projecting from her mouth, she leaves the nest box, presumably to share the kill after all. She returns 4 minutes later at 11:48 PM.

March 25 - We're data-challenged today, having been rudely reduced from the usual complement of data-gathering equipment - the entryway sensor, the frame archiver, and a TiVo - to just the entryway sensor and the frame archiver. I'd explain, but I'd start to rant. The good news is that data-gathering will be back to full-strength for the 26th.

CSTTemp.Description
12:32 AM67 F Female sits in entryway for a minute, then exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later at 12:37 AM.
2:06 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko
3:42 AM67 F Male delivers something
4:35 AM67 F Male delivers something
5:31 AM66 F Female sits in entryway for about 30 seconds, then exits nest box. She returns 14 minutes later at 5:45 AM.
5:53 AM66 F Male delivers something
6:01 AM65 F Male delivers something
6:25 AM65 F Sunrise
morning65-68 F The starlings are back. At least 19 visits, even if closely spaced visits are aggragated. It seems likely that starlings entered the nest box on some number of these occasions.
afternoon68-80 F The entryway sensor recorded only one starling visit, though it's safe to assume that starlings came to the box more often than that; they just didn't move deep enough into the entryway for the sensor to "see" them. Still, we'll write-off such visits as insignificant, and leave the count at one.
6:37 PM73 F Female moves to the entryway, sitting there for 3 minutes.
6:44 PM73 F Sunset
6:46 PM73 F Female sits in the entryway for 4 minutes before departing. She returns 11 minutes later at 7:01 PM.
7:31 PM72 F Male delivers something
8:21 PM71 F Female sits in the entryway for a minute. This was probably marked the arrival of a passing rainstorm.
8:25 PM69 F Male delivers something
8:49 PM68 F Male delivers a large item of prey. Carrying the item, the female follows the male out of the nest box, where they share it. The female returns 5 minutes later at 8:54 PM.
10:07 PM65 F Male delivers something

March 24 - Very few starling visits. A good number of food deliveries, but almost all were small items.

CSTTemp.Description
12:56 AM62 F Female sits in entryway for a minute, then exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later
1:44 AM59 F Male delivers a gecko
3:35 AM57 F Male delivers a gecko
5:32 AM55 F Male delivers something very small
5:34 AM55 F Male delivers something that might have been an American cockroach
5:54 AM54 F Male delivers a mystery bug. After the male exits the nest box, the female sits in the entryway for a minute, then she exits. She returns 8 minutes later at 6:03 AM.
6:26 AM54 F Sunrise
morning54-72 F Entryway sensor records only 5 visits to the nest box by starlings
afternoon72-80 F Entryway sensor records only 3 visits to the nest box by starlings
6:44 PM74 F Sunset
6:46 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 4 minutes
6:56 PM73 F Female sits in entryway for 2 minutes
7:01 PM73 F Female sits in entryway for 3 minutes, then exits nest box. She returns 7 minutes later at 7:11 PM.
7:17 PM73 F Male delivers a caterpillar or grub
7:19 PM73 F Male delivers something that might be a moth
7:38 PM72 F Male delivers a grasshopper
8:38 PM69 F Male delivers a gecko
9:19 PM67 F Male delivers a caterpillar or grub
9:41 PM67 F Male delivers a snake, most likely a Texas blind snake. [QuickTime; 2.4MB] It takes the female several attempts over a period of about 3 minutes to successfully swallow the still (mildly) wriggling snake. As Gehlbach has documented, it is not uncommon for Texas blind snakes to get away from an owl in a nest cavity, and, hiding in the bedding material, they thereafter live on any insects that attempt to infest the nest. Such housekeeping services tend to make the nest box environment healthier for the owlets, thereby improving owlet yields from snake-equipped nests. This is regarded as an accidental symbiosis, and one that is not, as yet, established in this nest box, this year.
10:32 PM67 F Male delivers an insect
11:27 PM66 F Male delivers something

March 23 - A very quiet day. Not much in the way of starling visits, apart from a burst in the morning. Not much in the way of food deliveries, either, but the female is well fed and won't have a problem with that.

CSTTemp.Description
3:57 AM46 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later
5:55 AM46 F Female exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later
6:27 AM46 F Sunrise
morning46-70 F Cluster of starling visits between 7:55 and 9:55 AM. Nothing afterward.
afternoon70-91 F Just a few starling visits
6:43 PM78 F Sunset
7:03 PM74 F Female exits nest box, returning 13 minutes later
8:15 PM70 F Male delivers a gecko
8:22 PM69 F Male delivers an American cockroach.
9:06 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko
10:00 PM63 F Male delivers a gecko
10:24 PM64 F Male delivers a mystery bug

March 22 - Record low starling activity, and two deliveries of large prey (both were birds) in the same day, including the largest single kill delivered yet. This would have to qualify as a good day for the owls.

CSTTemp.Description
12:12 AM57 F Female spends a minute in the entryway before returning to brooding
1:41 AM55 F Female exits nest box abruptly. Five seconds later, an owl enters the box, pauses on the floor while taking only a passing interest in the eggs, then leaves. I believe this was the male. Six minutes later, the female returns and resumes brooding.
3:51 AM51 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later
5:49 AM50 F Male enters the nest box carrying a mid-size bird (the largest he's brought to the box so far). The female struggles to take it, but he refuses to give it up. She realizes that this is not a food delivery, it's an invitation to share his kill, so she exits the nest box. The male then follows her. They will have met on a convenient limb somewhere nearby and shared the meal. The female returned 9 minutes later. See the movie. [QuickTime; 2.9MB]
6:28 AM51 F Sunrise
morning51-60 F Only a handful of starling visits
afternoon60-70 F Just a few starling visits
6:43 PM64 F Sunset
6:52 PM63 F Female sits in entryway for 1 minute
6:56 PM62 F Female sits in entryway for 1 minute
7:01 PM62 F Female exits nest box, returning 15 minutes later
7:35 PM61 F Male delivers a grasshopper
9:19 PM58 F Male delivers a gecko
10:43 PM54 F Male delivers a small grub or caterpillar
11:04 PM53 F Male delivers a mystery bug
11:28 PM51 F Male delivers a small bird, which he relinquishes to his mate after a little tug-of-war. The tugging match was meant to tell the female that he wanted to share the kill, and she understood. As soon as he released the bird, he climbed to the entryway and exited as his mate nudged him from behind. She followed after him, carrying the bird with her. See the movie. [QuickTime; 2.4MB] The female returned 6 minutes later.

March 21 - The number of starling visits was dramatically smaller today than on any previous day. It's possible that, in their growing desperation to nest, they've begun to realize that they can no longer afford to waste time attempting to take control of this nest box (well, not much time, anyway). If so, that probably means they're somewhere else in the neighborhood making another native cavity-nesting bird miserable, like the red-bellied woodpeckers that come to my feeders.

If the number of food deliveries also looks smaller than it has been on previous days, it is. Nothing to be concerned about, however; the female owl was well fed during the preceding nights, and will be fed further during the post-midnight portion of the night of March 21/22.

CSTTemp.Description
12:39 AM49 F Male delivers a small insect
3:03 AM48 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later
3:03 AM48 F Male delivers another mystery bug. (Could cicadas be hatching-out at this time of year?)
3:18 AM50 F Male delivers a small insect, possibly a moth
5:27 AM45 F Male delivers a small insect, possibly a cricket
6:30 AM43 F Sunrise
morning43-68 F Very few starling visits. Nonetheless, the owl did have to eject a starling on at least one occasion.
afternoon68-91 F Starlings waited until about 5:30 PM to resume their visits to the nest box and had to be ejected on at least two occasions in rapid succession.
6:38 PM78 F Female sits in entryway for 3 minutes
6:42 PM75 F Sunset
6:55 PM74 F Female sits in entryway for 3 minutes
7:01 PM75 F Female exits nest box, returning after 7 minutes
7:14 PM72 F Male delivers a mystery bug
9:24 PM63 F Male delivers a gecko
9:37 PM62 F Male delivers a mystery bug
9:42 PM62 F Male delivers a mystery bug

March 20 - Another slow day, so I'll just take this opportunity to thank everyone for the email. I read it all, even if I can't always think of anything half intelligent to write in reply.

CSTTemp.Description
12:19 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko
3:52 AM59 F Male delivers what might be a small mouse. (It appeared furry and whiskered, but otherwise not readily identifiable.) The female spends about 8 minutes swallowing it whole. She repeatedly gives-up with it partially swallowed, plucks it from her mouth with one foot, and tries again. Clearly, alignment matters when you swallow your food whole. (Being able to breathe while you swallow is also important.)
4:59 AM58 F Female exits nest box, returning 5 minutes later
6:13 AM55 F Female spends a minute in the entryway
6:31 AM57 F Sunrise
morning57-63 F Starlings visited on many occasions, and entered on a few.
afternoon63-65 F Considerably fewer starling visits than in the morning (as usual), and at least one entry.
6:41 PM63 F Sunset
6:42 PM63 F Female spends a minute sitting in the entrway
6:50 PM62 F Female spends a minute sitting in the entrway
6:57 PM62 F Female spends 2 minutes sitting in the entrway, then leaves for 7 minutes. Upon returning, she spends a minute performing some energetic bedding rearrangement.
7:18 PM62 F Male delivers a small insect
8:04 PM60 F Male delivers a small insect or grub
8:36 PM59 F Male delivers a gecko
8:42 PM57 F Male delivers a small insect or grub
10:00 PM53 F Male delivers a small insect. All of the small insects (or grubs) have looked much the same, but I haven't been able to identify them.
10:03 PM53 F Male delivers a small ...um... thing
10:12 PM53 F Male delivers a moth
11:11 PM52 F Male delivers another mystery bug

March 19 - Just another day of brooding, and starling visits. There'll be a lot of these.

CSTTemp.Description
2:42 AM50 F Female exits nest box, returning 5 minutes later
3:16 AM50 F Female exits nest box, returning 14 minutes later
5:45 AM54 F Female exits nest box, returning 8 minutes later
6:11 AM53 F Male delivers a small bird. After the male leaves the nest box, the female exits carrying the bird. She returns at 6:18 without the bird, having been gone for 7 minutes; time-enough to have swallowed the bird, though she may shared it with her mate, instead. See most of the event. [QuickTime; 2.5MB]
6:32 AM54 F Sunrise
8:06 AM52 F Starling enters nest box, owl convinces it to leave
morning54-70 F Starling visits between 7:10 and 9:30 AM.
5:07 PM85 F Starling enters nest box, owl convinces it to leave
afternoon70-85 F
6:41 PM75 F Sunset
6:49 PM74 F Female sits in the entrway, then returns to brooding. She does this on five occasions over the next 18 minutes.
7:07 PM73 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later
7:28 PM73 F Female exits nest box, returning 3 minutes later
9:47 PM64 F Male delivers a small grub or caterpillar
10:12 PM62 F Male delivers a gecko
10:28 PM62 F Male delivers a gecko
11:18 PM63 F Male delivers a gecko
11:47 PM63 F Male delivers a gecko

March 18 - It looks as though this will only be a two egg clutch. The minimum really should be three, but nothing is ever simple around here. (Sigh.)

CSTTemp.Description
12:26 AM65 F Female exits nest box, returning 5 minutes later
3:21 AM64 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later
4:17 AM64 F Male delivers an insect, probably an American cockroach
4:45 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko
6:08 AM63 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later, 18 minutes before sunrise
6:33 AM62 F Sunrise
7:16 AM62 F Female moves to entryway in a panic, apparently spooked by the sound of rain on the nest box roofs. The rain had started 3 minutes earlier, but noticeably increased in intensity about this time.
8:56 AM58 F Starling jumps from the entryway to the perch in the nest box, but leaves instantly because the owl begins to draw herself up for an attack. As is, she frightens the starling away without having moved much more than her head.
9:25 AM58 F Starling again enters the box despite observing the noticeably agitated female owl on its floor. This time it requires more persuading to leave, but leave it does, and squawking in distress.
morning57-62 F Lots of starling visits, once again they are more aggressive than they were the previous day
afternoon57-78 F Starlings stuck their heads into the nest box, but didn't enter
6:40 PM73 F Sunset
6:54 PM73 F Female climbs to entryway to stare out. She returns to brooding 4 minutes later.
7:07 PM70 F Female returns to entryway for four minutes, then resumes brooding
7:31 PM67 F Female exits nest box, returning 10 minutes later
10:14 PM57 F Male delivers a grub
10:57 PM55 F Male delivers a grub
11:19 PM53 F Male delivers a small moth

March 17 - Still only two eggs.

CSTTemp.Description
1:40 AM63 F Female exits nest box, returning 14 minutes later
2:22 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko
3:13 AM63 F Male delivers a grub or caterpillar
3:16 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko
5:14 AM63 F Female exits nest box, returning 11 minutes later
5:44 AM63 F Female exits nest box, returning 9 minutes later
6:34 AM63 F Sunrise
morning63-68 F Starlings bolder than the day before, again. They're still not willing to enter the box, but are leaning farther and farther in for a look.
3:39 PM69 F A starling enters the box and instantly panics as the owl rears up to attack. The starling flees.
afternoon68-70 F After the starling was ejected at 3:39, there were no additional visits
6:34 PM70 F Female climbs to entryway, and watches the world go by for 2 minutes
6:40 PM69 F Sunset
6:46 PM69 F Female climbs to entryway, and watches the world go by for 6 minutes
6:54 PM68 F Female sits in entryway for 4 minutes
7:01 PM68 F Female exits nest box, returning 10 minutes later
7:13 PM67 F Male delivers something, probably a plump moth
8:09 PM67 F Male delivers something, probably a grub or caterpillar
8:48 PM66 F Male delivers a gecko
9:37 PM66 F Male delivers a caterpillar
9:56 PM65 F Male delivers the headless body of a small bird. The female swallows it whole, a process that requires about five minutes. See the first minute of the process. [QuickTime; 2.3MB]

March 16 - No third egg today. Picture of the day: Yawning owl.

CSTTemp.Description
12:02 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko (scene just afterward)
2:11 AM65 F Female leaves nest box (leaving), returning 6 minutes later
3:11 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko
3:16 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko
4:57 AM62 F Male delivers a gecko
5:05 AM62 F Male delivers a grasshopper
5:56 AM62 F Female exits nest box, returning 8 minutes later
6:36 AM64 F Sunrise
morning64-75 F Frequent starling visits, bolder than yesterday. They have not risked entering the box, yet.
afternoon75-91 F Entryway sensor shows only two starling visits, but the owl's reactions suggest that starlings frequently landed at the lip of the entryway (where the sensor won't see them), or on the roof.
6:35 PM80 F Female climbs to the entrway and watches the world go by for 5 minutes
6:39 PM80 F Sunset
6:55 PM79 F Female sits in entryway for 3 minutes, then exits. She is gone for 13 minutes.
7:29 PM75 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later
7:52 PM75 F Female sits in entryway and a short time later is pushed back into the box by the male as he delivers a gecko
8:05 PM74 F Male delivers an American cockroach
8:37 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko; there is a short tug-of-war for possession, which the female wins.
9:20 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko
10:23 PM68 F Female sits in entryway for a minute, then returns to brooding

March 15 - No third egg today. All in all, a calm day. The only peculiar thing about the day is that the last five food deliveries occurred at very nearly 60 minute intervals ... as if there was a gecko dispenser in the neighborhood operating on a timer. Odd.

CSTTemp.Description
1:02 AM64 F Female climbs to entryway, sits there for one minute, then exits the nest box. She returns at 1:12 AM.
2:44 AM63 F Male delivers a small moth
4:05 AM62 F Male delivers a small gecko
5:14 AM59 F Female exits nest box, returning 12 minutes later
6:23 AM57 F Female sits in entryway, pauses, then returns to brooding after a total of 3 minutes
6:37 AM58 F Sunrise
morning58-68 F Starlings stuck their heads in the box ~8 times, but did not enter. The owl didn't seem disturbed.
afternoon68-80 F Only one detected startling visit. Female was undisturbed by that, and unconcerned by the sound of my many coming and goings, including raking gallium aparine from the area beneath the nest box. She seems to have gained confidence in her security here.
6:26 PM74 F Female moves to entryway for 3 minutes, then returns to brooding
6:38 PM74 F Sunset
6:38 PM74 F Female moves to entryway for 2 minutes, then returns to brooding
6:45 PM74 F Female moves to entryway for 6 minutes, then returns to brooding
6:55 PM74 F Female moves to entryway for 2 minutes, then exits nest box. She returns 17 minutes later.
7:15 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko
7:52 PM72 F Male delivers a gecko
8:53 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko
9:10 PM68 F Disturbed by something (probably the sound of me working sheet metal in the garage) the female spends about 30 seconds on high alert trying to decide whether or not to leave the nest box. She chooses to stay.
9:49 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko
10:49 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko
11:51 PM65 F Male delivers a gecko

March 14 - No third egg today.

CSTTemp.Description
12:46 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko (female with that gecko)
1:03 AM65 F Male delivers a gecko. He may be a bit hungry, himself, because before he releases the lizard, he engages the female in a short tugging match, seemingly to determine how anxious she is to have the food.
2:12 AM63 F Male delivers a gecko
3:18 AM63 F Female exits nest box, returning 6 minutes later
5:07 AM61 F Female exits nest box, returning 8 minutes later
5:18 AM60 F Male delivers a gecko
5:32 AM60 F Male delivers a gecko
6:28 AM58 F Female sits in entryway for one minute, then returns to brooding
6:38 AM59 F Sunrise [no morning constitutional]
morning59-76 F Starlings look into the nest box repeatedly between sunrise and 10:30 AM, but do not enter
afternoon76-94 F More starling visits, but no entries. Female employs gullar fluttering to cope with the heat.
6:36 PM82 F Female begins sitting in entryway
6:38 PM82 F Sunset
7:00 PM79 F Female leaves nest box for her evening constitutional, returning 17 minutes later
7:20 PM78 F Male delivers a gecko
7:30 PM76 F Male delivers a grasshopper
7:48 PM74 F Male delivers a gecko
8:19 PM74 F Male delivers a gecko, but the female won't take it. Both owls seems aware of something going on outside the nest box. The female leaves the box. Her mate with the lizard stays behind for 15-20 seconds, then leaves as well.
8:24 PM73 F Female returns to nest box, after 5 minutes
10:09 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko
10:42 PM66 F Male delivers a gecko
11:36 PM65 F Male delivers a gecko

March 13 - The second egg was laid today, as best I can tell either at 11:30 AM, or 1:00 PM (certainly no later than that). According to Gehlbach we can expect the third egg in 0.8-1.6 days. However, considering the long 2.9 day gap between eggs 1 and 2 that we've just seen, there's no telling when egg 3 might appear.

Geckos accounted for all food delivered to the nest box. After a bit of long-overdue searching, I learned today that my friendly, neighborhood geckos are an introduced species from the Mediterranean which is occupying a previously unused niche in the local ecosystem: nocturnal, insectivorous lizard (which likes to hang-out near porch lights). Learn something new every day.

CSTTemp.Description
1:02 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko
2:01 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko
3:07 AM68 F Female sits in entryway. Two minutes later she exits.
3:23 AM68 F Female returns 20 minutes later and resumes brooding
3:35 AM68 F Male delivers a gecko
4:27 AM68 F Female exits nest box
4:52 AM67 F Female returns after 25 minutes
5:10 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko, then awkwardly struggles out of the entryway backwards [QuickTime; 0.6MB]
5:43 AM67 F Female climbs to entryway, sits there for one minute, then exits
6:06 AM67 F Female returns after 23 minutes, 33 minutes before sunrise
6:39 AM68 F Sunrise
11:30 AM76 F Second egg laid (best guess)
morning68-78 F Starlings bolder than yesterday, but not yet willing to risk entering the box again
1:00 PM80 F First definite sighting of second egg. Could also be when it was laid (other best guess).
6:13 PM85 F Something interacted with the box, or the cables connected to it, producing suspicious enough sounds that the female became concerned, though she ultimately chose not to have a look outside.
afternoon78-95 F No starling visits, at least none far enough into the entryway for the entryway sensor to detect. Female employs gullar fluttering to cope with heat.
6:31 PM84 F Female enters the entryway 6 minutes before sunset for her usual period of sunset-stradling watching-the-world-go-by.
6:37 PM84 F Sunset
7:01 PM79 F Female exits nest box for her evening constitutional
7:25 PM76 F Female returns after 24 minutes
7:38 PM74 F Female exits nest box, returning 7 minutes later
7:53 PM74 F Female exits nest box, returning 4 minutes later
9:17 PM73 F Female exits nest box, returning 3 minutes later
9:27 PM73 F Male delivers a gecko
10:56 PM68 F Female exits nest box, returning 11 minutes later
11:56 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko

March 12 - No second egg today. I'm surprised. According to Gehlbach, we should expect a delay between the first and second egg of only 0.8 to 1.4 days. Typical screech owl clutches are four eggs for the first nesting attempt, so there should be a second egg, and we can expect it at any time. (Sallie, it must be said, is fond of reminding me that the owls don't read the books about them, and therefore feel no obligation to behave as described.)

CSTTemp.Description
12:35 AM69 F Female leaves nest box
12:43 AM67 F Female returns after 8 minutes and resumes brooding
1:24 AM67 F Male delivers a gecko [QuickTime; 0.8MB]
3:20 AM67 F Female leaves nest box
3:32 AM67 F Female returns to nest box after 12 minutes
4:41 AM67 F Female leaves nest box
5:05 AM67 F Female returns to nest box after 24 minutes
6:21 AM66 F Female leaves nest box for her morning constitutional 20 minutes before sunrise. She returns 6 minutes later.
6:41 AM66 F Sunrise
morning69 F Starlings landed in the entryway occasionally, but didn't enter the nest box. The owl does not seem to have been unduly disturbed.
afternoon75 F Starlings landed in the entryway twice, but didn't enter the nest box
6:31 PM75 F Female climbs into entryway to watch the world go by
6:37 PM74 F Sunset
6:38 PM73 F Female resumes brooding after 7 minutes
6:51 PM73 F Female returns to entryway, then leaves for her evening constitutional 6 minutes later, 20 minutes after sunset
9:28 PM69 F Female resumes brooding after an absence of 2 hours, 32 minutes
10:12 PM68 F Female exits nest box
10:36 PM68 F Female returns to nest box after 24 minutes
10:50 PM68 F Male delivers a gecko, but the female ignores him completely. He exits with the lizard.
11:32 PM67 F Male delivers a gecko, this one is accepted

As you can see, loyal readers, I'm experimenting with terser methods of representing the day's events. Expect further experimentation.

March 11 - [No second egg today. Expect it anytime on the 12th.] The day began with the box empty at a temperature of 62 F. The female returned to brood the egg at 2:29 AM CST (59 F). The male delivered a gecko at 3:20 AM, and the female followed him out of the nest box (58 F). She returned a few minutes later, possibly still carrying the gecko (if so, she swallowed it soon after). She exited the nest box again at 4:07 AM (56 F). The male visited 40 minutes later, but left as quickly as he'd come. The female returned 53 minutes after she'd left (54 F). She brooded the egg for 50 minutes, then exited the box at 5:58 AM (57 F). She returned at 6:15 AM (57 F), 27 minutes before sunrise, stared into the camera with big, innocent eyes [anthropomorphism alert], and resumed her brooding duty.

Starling visits commenced 27 minutes after sunrise. By 10:16 AM, the sound of starlings landing at mouth of the entryway had been denying her sleep for three and half hours. At that point a starling chose to enter the box, landing for an instant on the perch, then thinking better of it and jumping into one of the upper corners of the box, even as another starling could be heard on the roof. The owl had had enough, and rose slowly from the floor, with her eyes fixed on the starling. In a fraction of a second, she leapt at it, nearly inverting herself in order to bring her powerful talons to bear. She seems to have scored multiple hits with both talons and beak, but it was mostly a blur even on frame-by-frame replay. The starling disappeared through the hole, and the owl returned calmly to sitting on her egg. The remainder of the daylight hours appear to have passed without further visitations.

As sunset approached she repeatedly climbed into the entryway to watch the world go by, as screech owls always seem to like to do. She left the box fifteen minutes after sunset (68 F) for her morning constitutional, returning 58 minutes later at 7:49 PM. With the nest box temperature holding steady at 68 F, she could afford to take a long break from incubation. No food deliveries having been made, she left the box at 9:04 PM, returning 24 minutes later (68 F). At 9:43 PM the male delivered a small moth. At 10:01 the he brought a gecko, but the female ignored him completely. He left, then came back with the same lizard ~45 seconds later, and this time his mate accepted it. (Go figure.) At 10:46 PM the female heard me step out of my back door, somewhere on the order of 60 feet from her tree, and left the nest box (67 F) until 11:26 (66 F), which was probably a bit after I'd returned to the house from my workshop (read: garage), where I was continuing my effort to reincarnate a battered old ringtail nest box for Sallie, our local raptor (and ringtail) rehabilitator. This leave-when-his-backdoor-opens behavior is something this female screech owl has in common with last year's female. I don't believe they're the same bird (much as I'd like to), but it's an interesting coincidence. There was no further activity today.

March 10 - First owl visit of the day 3:09 AM CST; duration: two minutes; owl: female; activity: bedding rearranging. The female made the next visit which occurred at 6:26 AM, nine minutes before sunrise. The male joined her in the nest box one minute later, but departed after three minutes. (That's the male in the foreground.) This is normal practice for a male; they perform their guard duties from outside the nest cavity. Unfortunately my bird feeders bring a large number of song birds to the vicinity of the nest box, which means there's no place near the box where the male can hide during the day. In past years, this seems to have forced the males to abandon their guard duty and seek a secure roost well away from the area. The results of this were readily apparent today, as the female soon found herself sharing the nest box with starlings, an unfamiliar, and unpleasant experience for her. It was therefore fortunate that at 7:47 AM the male moved into the nest box with her. (Male in the foreground, again.) He spent some of his time on the floor with his mate, but also sat in the entryway, directly denying access to the starlings. (Note the mostly erect ear tufts on the female; she was still feeling agitated due to the starling intrusions.) The male soon found a useful middle-ground between occupying the entryway, and sitting on the floor: the perch inside nest box, which puts him in a good position to discourage intruding starlings, while allowing him to rest and keep a low profile the rest of the time. At times the female chose to sit in the entryway for short periods, or to join her mate on the perch. At 8:39, she left the nest box. The male observed this, but remained in the nest box and tried to get some sleep. The female returned at 11:30 AM. (If the perched male looks more to you like a mottled lump than an owl in that frame, you get some idea of how effective screech owl camouflage can be. Now imagine that lump tucked-up next to the bark of a tree trunk in dappled shade.) It wasn't until about 12:30 PM that things settled-down in the box, and even then they didn't stay all that settled. (Female on floor.)

Somewhere in the vicinity of 2:54 PM CST, the female laid her first egg. (Forget about the doomed egg of Feb. 22; that was a different female.) Nine minutes later she obligingly provided us with the first look at the egg. Though he sat calmly on the perch with his eyes closed, the male was not asleep during this process, and probably knew what was going on just by listening.

Starlings tried to return to the box at 4:48 PM, but they seem to have beat a hasty retreat.

As sunset approached there was contention for the privilege of sitting in the entryway and watching the world go by. (That's the female already at the entry.) The male seems to have won in the end, but the matter was hotly contested for the 15 minutes following sunset while the male waited for dusk to settle on the land. The male left the nest box at 6:50 PM, and the female did so five minutes later, twenty minutes after sunset, with the nest box temperature at 76 F.

The female returned for a bit of brooding at 7:18 PM, but left after 25 minutes. By 8:39 PM, she was back and trying to get settled on the egg. She stuck with it for 52 minutes this time, then disappeared with the nest box at 65 F. Fourteen minutes later, the male brought a gecko to the nest box, only to find there was no one at home to appreciate his work. He waited in the entryway for a polite interval, then swallowed the lizard and went on his way. The female returned at 10:22, got in an hour of brooding, and was gone again (63 F), perhaps thinking that her fellow had forgotten his hunting duties, even as he may have been thinking she'd forgotten her brooding duty. Well, it was only day one for a pair of owls that have probably never done this before, so some confusion is to be expected. I'm going to indulge in foolish optimism, and believe that things will proceed less chaotically tomorrow.

(Though it seems to go against the behavioral template of a male screech owl's instincts, I hope he occupies the nest box during the coming days; nothing else is going to keep the starlings in check. And, of course, it makes for interesting viewing.)

March 9 - First, and only, pre-sunrise owl visit was by the female at 4:53 AM CST; duration: two minutes; activity: bedding rearrangement. Usual starling visits throughout the daylight hours. First post-sunset owl visit at 7:06 PM, 31 minutes after sunset; duration: 30 seconds; activity: male calling his mate. The female showed-up 3 minutes later, rearranged some of the bedding, and left after a minute and a half. That was it for nest box visits.

March 8 - No pre-sunrise owl visits. Usual starling visits during the daylight hours. The male owl made the first post-sunset visit at 7:11 PM CST, 37 minutes after sunset. The visit lasted about four and a half minutes, and was almost entirely devoted to calling for the female. The female showed-up a minute after the male left. She immediately began work on the bedding material, but spent most of her time sitting in the entryway looking out. After three minutes, she left. After a further three minutes she returned for a minute and a half. She the left for under a minute, before returning again. This was the final owl visit for the day, and lasted under three minutes.

March 7 - The first visit of the day happened at 12:31 AM CST. The male came to the nest box with a small caterpillar, apparently expecting to find his mate. He called to her from the box, then left. At 2:51 AM the female showed-up, and seemed annoyed to find the starling-deposited grass stems littering the floor of the box. She tried shoving them up against the walls, but they wouldn't stay there. As a result, she went as far as breaking-up some particularly bothersome stems by holding them in one foot while tearing at them with her beak by twisting her head and tugging. I don't think I've ever before seen a screech owl - a species that doesn't even build nests - manipulate an inert element of its environment with such specificity and care. This final pre-sunrise visit lasted nine minutes and did leave the floor of the nest box slightly tidier than it had started.

The usual starling visits happened throughout the daylight hours. The first post-sunset owl visit of the day was conducted by the female at 6:56 PM CST, 23 minutes after sunset. The visit lasted two minutes and included bedding rearrangement (which is why I conclude the owl was the female). At 7:02 PM, more rearranging was done during another two minute visit. That was the final visit of the day.

March 6 - The only visit of the pre-sunrise hours happened at 6:17 AM CST, and lasted a bit more than three minutes. There was a bit of bedding rearrangement, but mostly the owl sat in the entryway, staring out. During the morning, starlings began depositing old feathers in the next box, later they added dried grass stems. The first post-sunset owl visit took place at 6:52 PM, 19 minutes after sunset. It lasted just two minutes, and was probably the male, because no bedding rearrangement was conducted, and most of the time was spent staring out of the entryway, probably calling for his mate. Two minutes after that visit ended, an owl came to the box and did do some rearranging, so it seems safe to assume that this was the female that had just been called by the male. That visit lasted three minutes. By 7:01 PM the female was back in the box and continuing her rearranging work. She left four minutes later, and that was the final visit of the day.

March 5 - The first owl visit of the day came at 2:27 AM CST and lasted one minute. Best guess is that it was a female, but the behavior wasn't entirely distinctive. First starling visit happened 25 minutes after sunrise. Today marked the debut of house sparrow visits. At 12:21 PM a screech owl occupied the nest box in broad daylight for two and a half minutes. It's a safe bet that this owl is one of the owls responsible for our night-time visits, and my best guess is that it came to the nest box to escape mobbing by the local songbirds. It may have been flushed from its usual daytime roost by unusual activity in the area and was then mobbed, or birds may have stumbled on the roost site and driven the owl away. In either case, it's hard to understand why the visit was as brief as it was, so my speculations may be wrong. The first post-sunset owl visit happened at 6:57 PM, 26 minutes after sunset. It seems likely to have been the timid female, because the visit consisted only of the owl inserting its head into the entryway, and then backing out. Another such visit took place at 7:09 PM, and a proper visit finally occurred beginning at 7:11 PM and lasting for three minutes. One minute later, an owl was in the box again, this time for a bit more than 60 seconds. That was the day's final visit.

March 4 - The first owl visit of the day came at 1:06 AM CST. The female spent six minutes looking around, and doing some rearranging of the bedding, then left. The day was occupied with the usual starling visits. The first post-sunset owl visit happened at 6:57 PM, 26 minutes after sunset. The visit lasted only two minutes and was entirely devoted to sitting in the entryway and looking out. This was probably the male, and, if so, it's likely he was calling to his mate as he sat there. The final visit of the day was at 8:11 PM, and was so short it wasn't captured on camera. It seems likely to me that the timid female stuck her head into the entry and then left almost immediately.

March 3 - No owl visits today. Bear in mind that this means almost nothing, because it's largely an artifact of the way diurnal critters like H. sapiens think about time. Nocturnal creatures, like the owls, would never track time in days; for them it's the nights that are important, and there hasn't been a night since February 19/20 when the owls haven't visited. Nonetheless, for the convenience of our diurnal audience, I'll continue to act like midnight has some significance, and therefore the post-midnight visits will have to wait for the March 4 update.

March 2 - No owl visits between midnight and sunrise. The usual starling visits occurred during the morning and late afternoon. The first owl visit began at 8:00 PM CST, an hour and a half after sunset. The female was soon joined by her mate, who delivered a small food item. Thereafter they stood together on the floor (that's the male on the right) and trilled to each other for an unusually long time, perhaps 30 seconds. After the male left, the female conducted her customary rearranging of the bedding material before leaving as well, 17 minutes after arriving. The timid female visited at 8:41 and 8:44, but didn't enter the box until 8:47 PM. After a little work on the bedding, she left three minutes later.

March 1 - The timid female showed-up around 2:30 AM CST, March 1. After several false starts, she entered the nest box and began rearranging the bedding material. Her mate joined her in the box to deliver a grub or caterpillar, and left immediately afterward. She exited two minutes later. A pair of back-to-back visits began at 3:30 AM and concluded 22 minutes later. As usual, rearranging of the bedding was a recurring activity. Throughout the day, starlings visited. The first post-sunset owl visit wasn't until 7:24 PM CST, 45 minutes after sunset. The owl did not enter the box, so I assume it was the timid female. She briefly appeared again at 8:17 PM, also without entering, and that was it for March first.

February 28 - The first owl visit of the day happened at 5:51 AM CST. The owl stuck it's head in the entryway, and appears to have left without entering the box, which suggests that this was the timid female who produced, and abandoned, the egg of the 22nd. Starling visits occurred throughout the morning and early afternoon. The first post-sunset owl visit happened at 6:49 PM CST, twenty minutes after sunset. Bedding was rearranged, and the owl was gone two minutes later. The owl returned to the box a minute after leaving, then left again a minute afterward. At 7:50 PM, an owl stuck it's head into the entryway, then left without having entered the box. Presumably that was the timid female making her first visit of the night.

February 27 - Three owl visits in the morning between 4:55 AM CST and 5:20. All featured rearranging of the bedding material. Throughout the post-sunrise morning hours, starlings visited the nest box, and appear to have stolen the egg at 10:52 AM. (Given that the egg was almost certainly dead after being exposed to several consecutive days of sub-freezing temperatures, this isn't much of a loss.) Early in the afternoon, the owlet rail was removed from the front of the box in order to make squirrel visits more difficult. Late in the afternoon, starling visits resumed. Beginning 25 minutes after sunset, at 6:53 PM CST, the day's final owl visits occurred intermittently for twelve minutes.

February 26 - No owl visits. One more fox squirrel visit, which suggests that the owlet rail should be removed at the next opportunity.

February 25 - There was a visit in the early hours by the timid female. As is the case with most of her visits, she didn't enter the box. Starting at 10:36 AM a fox squirrel explored the box twice. While it gave the egg a sniff, it left the egg undamaged. Which makes it ironic that the egg disappeared without a trace during the course of a visit by the more sensible of my conjectured two female owls. During that 8:47 PM visit, she did a fair amount of rearrangement of the bedding material on the floor of the box. She employs two techniques for this: (1) kicking the material behind her, and (2) pushing the material around bulldozer-style with her breast. The latter technique usually leaves pine shavings clinging to her facial feathers. My best guess is that the egg is still in the box, but is now buried under the pine shavings. Six minutes later she returned to the box for further rearranging. An hour later, the timid owl visited, but backed out of the entrance hole without ever entering the box.

February 24 - Only one visit shortly after sunset, as a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow fell. The egg appears to have been completely abandoned, and at these temperatures it would be surprising if it survived. Rescuing the egg was on my mind and Sallie's, but bringing the box down in these conditions would have been a problem, and putting it up again, even more so. The added danger of frightening away the owls who were visiting the box clinched the decision to leave it alone.

Based on a month or more of observing the nightly visits of the owls, my best guess about the owl situation is this: Two pairs have been visting the box. The female of one pair is so timid she can rarely pluck-up the courage to do more than look into the box. When she has entered the box, she has often left again without even setting foot on the floor, as if she's not sure there's a floor down there at all. The other female is on the timid side, too, but much less so; after a careful look 'round she will enter the box, albeit a bit clumsily. I assume both are yearlings, and have never chosen, or explored, a nesting cavity before. If there's truth in these guesses, then it seems likely that it was the extremely timid female who laid this one egg, abandoning it in mid-afternoon of her first day in the box, probably spooked by starling visits and, perhaps, the ruckus of the birds visiting my feeders.

Meanwhile, the second female continues her nightly visits to the nest box in preparation for laying her own eggs. She has shown almost no interest in the egg already present, but seldom misses an opportunity to shove and kick at the pine shavings on the floor of the box in order to prepare a depression to hold her own eggs. If the box is going to produce a crop of owlets this year, I think the credit will be hers.

Alternately, I could be completely wrong. Only the owls really know what's going on.

February 23 - A few brief owl visits, including some spirited shoving-about of the bedding material, but no occupancy.

February 22 - First daytime occupancy of the box, although the female abandoned the box around 3 PM. Was surprised to discover the first egg while taking advantage of her absence to fix the floor of the box which looked like an earthquake had hit it as a result of an effort to frighten away a squirrel a few days earlier. If the female returns to incubate the egg, we're back in the owl-building business for another year. If not, Sallie, the raptor rehabilitator, says she has an incubator just waiting for its first screech owl egg of the year.

February 4 - Once in a great while, email brings something completely, and pleasantly, surprising, and I certainly don't mean the spam. Today I received email from the actor B.D. Wong requesting permission to use one of my owl photos in his forthcoming first book, Following Foo. I was happy to give permission. The title page of each section of the book will include a semi-random photo, and my hatching egg photo - tastefully converted to black & white - will be one of them. The book will be released by Harper Entertainment in June, 2003.

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