Owl update!!

So yesterday I got brave and decided to try and upload some pictures to my face book page all by myself. I know a real daring move , if I do say so myself. So, while going through the files I came across some of the pictures from last year. Since the camera in the box is not working I thought I could share what was happening at the same period of time last year. All of the following were taken in march 2008. This particular picture was actually taken from the window of the jeep as I was going out the driveway. Hootie sat there the whole time and I was maybe 30 feet away.

A few days later I found Blowfish in the tree just across the driveway. The strange thing is that the last couple years while she is in the nest, he sits near keeping watch . This year I have not seen him around in the trees as often. We definitely hear them both but, he is usually far away. I am not sure if this is because there are so many D@(* crows around and he is trying to draw them away from the box. We have also seen the hawks flying overhead. They are both predators to the owlets and when they are around he will not go to the nest.


I remember this night very clearly. We were sitting in the living room and they were really chattering up a storm outside. They call it monkey chatter and is can get VERY loud. I ran to the deck door and they were both in the tree side by side. It is the first time in the 3 years we have followed them , that we have seen them together in the same shot. They were a lot closer when we first saw them and I will let your minds take it from there!!



A little background info for those who haven't followed the owl saga. They are a pair of Barred Owls we named Hootie and Blowfish. They mate for life and pretty much stay around the same area. In the winter they will occasionally use the nest box for shelter or for storing food. When we first hooked up the camera in the box it was empty. One day in January I turned on the camera and dinner was waiting!!. This was in the box for weeks before one of them came and (sorry about this) would sit on it ,thaw it a little, and have a snack.


Another day there was a visitor to the box. Brave little thing, as very often they turn into dinner themselves. The chipmunk in the box was snack food for many days and it was very surprising to us to watch, what can I say. Most of my friends find it gross but, I find it fascinating to watch and listen to the goings on in the box.


This was a picture from very late in the evening. Blowfish will hoot from the woods and Hootie will coo from the nest . Usually within a few minutes he would come with food. I was surprised last year how little she left the nest even before we saw eggs. I am hoping that is what is happening now.

Here you can see that she has a vole for lunch. You can also see feathers in the nest. Last year I felt bad that I have a bird feeder on the deck and then you look in the box and they have turned into dinner. But, that is nature. They usually eat voles, mice, red squirrels, birds, and last year we saw snakes and frogs.

She spends many hours preening and scratching around in the box. She starts at the base of the feathers and chews her way up to the very tip. I will include a video of that at a later date.....Have to keep you coming back ya know.

Again , while looking through the pictures I remember quit plainly these next 2 pics. I was watching the camera on the TV and saw Hootie sitting in the nest box opening. I ran to the kitchen window in hopes she would still be there.

She was!!!
I was able to get a picture of her. Hey, what can I say I am an excitable girl!!! Maybe not everyone would get so excited that they saw both the inside and the outside of an owl in it's nest at the same time!!! I am weird that way.

I mentioned that she scratches around in the box ALOT! In the fall we have to clean out the box and put new wood chips in. She then spends most of her time chewing them into smaller pieces and scratching them into just the right spot. You have seen the pictures of her claws so you can imagine the sound that makes. Dave was a little concerned she would claw through the bottom of the box.

I will look through some more shots and video and do another post soon. Hope you enjoyed this one.