#20 Chryssa's Owls

Chryssa's nest box for surprise owls.

Dear Owl Enthusiasts,

Just when you thought we were finished talking about owls for this year, here we are again with news! Four nights ago, our daughter heard a pair of owls in her yard a few miles from our house. It was 10 PM when she posted on FB, "I need a nest box! Male and female western screech owls calling to each other."

Let me give the reader some back story. Owls usually start locating nest boxes (or tree cavities) in January or February. Then, the first of March, they usually lay eggs. The eggs hatch the first of April and the owlets fledge the first of June, all dates being approximate, of course. So, why would a pair of owls be duetting (calling back and forth and together) in June? Well, very little research has been done on Western Screech-Owls, so I'll make a semi-educated guess. They are either interested in having a second brood or they lost their first one. Or, of course they could be duetting for an unknown reason. 

What was I to do? I went to Wild Birds Unlimited to see what I could buy ready-made. They do have beautifully crafted owl nest boxes, but I didn't want to spring for the money, so I took my printout of nest box plans from the Audubon website. But, it turns out that getting a cedar 1" X 10" X 8' board is harder than it sounds. No one in town carries that width. I settled for an 8" board and pieced a lot of parts together. That evening, Chryssa and I mounted her nest box on an east-facing tree trunk in her yard.

Chryssa's nest box gets a new tree and regulation height.

Once again, the owls called that night and the next. On the fourth night, Terry took his extension ladder over and we moved the nest box to a different tree and mounted it the suggested height of 10'-30'. And boom. The owls landed on the perch on the front, hopped all around and on the box, and seemingly went into it. We couldn't believe our luck (or strategic action)! We don't have a camera in this box, so the only livestreaming will be from the outside, but the trail cam is aimed at the box, so we hope to have lots of video clips if they do, in fact, nest in that box.

You know we're not above naming our yard owls, but I'll leave that up to our daughter and her two boys, Felix and Remy.

Whatever happens, we are optimistic this nest box will be the home to owlets, if not this year, then in future years. We'll keep you posted!

#19 Sail on, Little Sailors

We are both happy and sad that our owls have moved on. Happy, because they have succeeded in an urban environment full of danger. Sad, because we became attached to this wild, but gentle, family sharing our yard with us. We could not find them June 3 or today, June 4, 2020. I have scanned our cottonwood and our two maples extensively and haven’t located them. Sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee and looking for owls in the early June breeze is a sweet enterprise. 

To be sure, these owls are easy to miss among the extensive leaves of a large tree. And during the day, they sit still, only moving their heads a bit to look at what humans are up to. They are curious, but not especially interested. One young may sidle a few inches closer to its sibling. That’s about it. Birders find most birds by detecting movement or sounds. During the day, Western Screech-Owls don’t give you much to work with.

Onward little family. We hope to see you again. An upgraded nest box will be waiting next year, whether it’s Peach returning or one of the little ones ready to carry screech-owls into the future.