Olive returns, version 2

Olive is back!!  After she departed the last time (around Feb 4), I put the ladder up against the nest box tree and checked inside the box. With no evidence of anything, I decided to, once again, leave the door slightly open, hoping to discourage any squatting squirrels. Yesterday I climbed the ladder to make sure there was no evidence of squirrels in the box. As I approached the bottom of the ladder, I looked up to be sure of my position and saw 2 small yellow eyes gazing down on me.  (As an aside, I must tell you that my self-control has become astonishingly strong!)  I did smile as I walked away, but when I got to the bedroom door, I opened it and hollered at Ivan to come see.  She must have bestowed her charming gaze on him too because his smile was as big as mine!
        Last night we were lucky to see - and photograph - her! She was in the opening at 5:57PM and flew away at 6:00PM! I managed to digiscope 4 photos, 3 of which are very blurry. The one below is the only one that's in focus. She was either hallucinating, or she was watching some small thing on the ground right under the box.
        I'll resume posting on the blog. As you know, we're entering the breeding time for Western Screech Owls in this neck of the woods. Having been unaware of their presence last year, I have no idea what to expect. If she stops coming to the opening, especially in mid-March, she could be on eggs. What a wonderful opportunity that would be for us to learn a bit more about these charming birds! Stay tuned!

Feb. 13, 2011 - Gone . . . again

On Feb. 2, Olive never came into the opening of the box. I hoped that she was having a sleep-over somewhere and, when I checked the next afternoon, there she was!  I was delighted that she was still residing in the box. The next night, however, she was absent once again.  And the next night, and the next night, etc. Yesterday, around 2:30PM, on a beautiful warm sunny day, I decided to look in the box and was disappointed, but not really surprised, to see the box empty. So, the long and short of it is that we have not seen Olive since Feb. 4 - a total of 9 nights. Nor have we heard any WSO's calling. Not being a WSO biologist, I don't really know what all this means. Is Olive still alive? Was the owl in the box really a female? Or might it have been a new male who was merely checking out the suitability of the box for a mate? If the owl in the box was really Olive, who, last year, nested successfully somewhere other than that box, might she have returned to her successful nest site? I have no answers.
So, I guess we just watch and wait. We've had a lot of wind lately and the ground under the redwoods is a mess. I'll try to clean up that area as slowly as I can so I can spend a lot of time watching for any signs of owl nests in those trees. I left the door to the box a bit open so the squirrels don't try to take over the box. Should we learn anything more about these charming owls, I'll post it here immediately.

Up Early

Yesterday, at 5:18PM, I was beginning to think about preparing dinner. I thought about checking to see if Olive was in the opening of her box. I scoffed at the notion, mostly because she has been appearing later and later each afternoon. Normally she would be in the opening around 5:30, but I thought I'd give a look - and there she was! She held her eyes in a squint and looked around very slowly, so I figured she had just awakened, but what made her come out when there was still so much light was a mystery. I dashed into the house, grabbed my little camera and digiscoped 2 photos of her. Really, there's no news today - just a photo. She did do something I thought to be odd, though. In the space of less than one minute, at 5:38PM, she wiggled around in the opening, made herself very thin and popped back into the box. About a nanosecond later, she hopped up into the opening, looked around quickly, then flew straight out of the box into the redwoods! Not sure what that was all about, but I guess she has her own reasons. Hope you like the photo!

Jan. 9 - BIG Event!

What an evening we've just had! I've been sort of under the weather for a couple of days and had even wondered if I should check on Olive since it's so chilly (for Fair Oaks!) outside. In spite of that, I went out around 5:00, looked through the scope, didn't see her, so I went back inside. I went out again at 5:05, didn't see her, so I decided to sit in a chair in plain view of the box and wait. One minute later, Olive hopped up into the opening and sat there looking so sleepy I decided she would be there for at least 10 minutes so I went back inside. I went out again at 5:18 and her behavior had changed to pre-departure, looking around quickly and shifting her position in the opening. Suddenly, she leaned forward and flew straight out of the box. I looked to my left across the little pond, hoping to see her as she flew into the redwood yard (where last year's brood had been). She had a surprise - actually more than one! - in store for me. She landed on a branch of the pin oak that's next to the pond - and about 15' from where I was standing. I slowly rushed into the house to tell Ivan where she was. She sat quietly as Ivan got some good looks at her. He then went back into the house to get his "night vision" binoculars (actually a toy and not much good for owl watching). I remained watching her and was a little alarmed to see that she was looking straight down into the pond. Suddenly she actually flew into the pond! She was at the surface for only a split second and then flew into the big oak tree. As Ivan returned I heard the soft trill of a female WSO coming from the place she had flown. While Ivan was trying to see her in his night binocs, a SECOND Screech Owl flew in and landed near her! We watched in the growing darkness, feeling really lucky to have these two owls here and really hopeful that they'll raise another family in our yard!

Jan. 7 - 2 photos

This is Oliver - of that we are certain.

This is NOT Oliver - of this we are pretty certain! The streaks above each owl's left eye are very different.
Whether it's actually (last year's) Olive will probably never be known for certain.

January 7, 2011

Olive has been showing up at the entrance hole of her box each evening like clockwork. I'm keeping a record of when she's in the opening and when she leaves for the night. I don't always see her enter the opening, but she sure is cute when she (apparently) hops up to the bottom of the 3" hole and surveys her world with a demeanor that can best be described as sleepy at first, then increasingly more and more alert, looking around, peering intently at things unseen by me as I watch from behind the black cloth. Just before she flies away, she seems to become agitated, looking around quickly and adjusting her position, then leaning slightly outward and off she goes!
Now I have an issue about which I WELCOME comments/suggestions/observations. Next post will display 2 photos - the one dated in April we know for certain is Oliver, the Dad of last year's trio. The other one, dated in November 2010, is, I think, Olive, the Mom of the trio. I think they are 2 different owls, but am still not 100% convinced!  There are some behavior differences, but those can be explained by circumstances. For example, Oliver would always fly due east when he left the box, but that was because he was meeting up with his family in the redwoods. When she leaves the box, Olive seems to choose her direction randomly. The only direction she has not flown is west.  Olive also spends only a short time in the opening, sometimes only 5 minutes, before departing. Oliver used to sit in the opening for up to 45 minutes, but then, he was waiting for the wife and kids to get up! So, I took a photo of Olive's face and one of Oliver's face and compared them. Ivan is 100% convinced that they are different owls, and I agree, but I'm having trouble trying to figure out why Olive went into the box. Yes, it's a nest box, but she has no knowledge of it or experience with it. I guess it's possible that she saw the box and decided to give it a look-see, liked it, and moved in. OK, enough of this speculation! Please look at the two, rather poor-quality photos of the 2 owls who have, at different times, been occupants of the box and let me know what you think. I guess we'll just have to wait for Screech Owl nesting to begin before we can know for certain that the one in the box now is Olive (or maybe Olive-2).

Dec. 20 - Huge relief

   At 4:35PM this afternoon, Olive hopped up into the opening of her box. At that very moment I was eyeing a large crow's nest in our big oak tree to see if there were any large (& unwelcome) owls in it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement near Olive's box and was so overjoyed to see her, I almost whooped with delight. As I leaped to the scope to get a better look, she just sat there with her eyes closed looking completely at ease and content. She flew from the box at 5:07PM. Just before she left, I asked her to please be careful, to watch out for large avian predators and to come back to the box. I hope she listened.

Great Horned Owl story

   This story has pertinence, so bear with me!  In 1980 or 1981, when I was in graduate school at San Francisco State, a bunch of us went to Los Banos NWR in March or April on a field trip. This area is about 10 miles east of I-5 in the vicinity of the San Luis Reservoir and is a waterfowl migration stop. Great place in fall and winter for ducks and geese. We found a Great Horned Owl nest in a very tall cottonwood tree near the water and we could see that the nest had at least one young in it. We had no means to climb the tree (remember we were young and stupid at the time) so we decided to return the next day to give it a go. During the night there was a terrific storm with high winds in that area. When we arrived at the place of the nest, we were horrified to see that the nest, formerly in a (natural) horizontal position, was in a completely vertical position, perpendicular to the way it should be. We approached the base of the tree and noticed a largish ball of white fluff on the ground with an intact egg next to it. The fluff was a deceased baby Great Horned Owl. As an aside, in my Ornithology class we were required to "put up" 3 dead birds. This phrase means to prepare a specimen to be kept in a museum for possible taxonomic research. Most of the birds we were putting up were starlings (I guess they ARE good for something!), but Dr. Bowman, our prof. said that we could find our own birds if we wanted to.
   So, we took this unfortunate baby owl home with us and I took it to the bio lab to put it up. It caused a bit of excitement in the department because one doesn't often see a dead baby GHO, nor does one see such a creature being dissected. If I remember correctly, the owl was about 8 or 9 inches tall and was covered with white fluffy feathers. I was removing the internal organs when I noticed something big in the bird's crop. I made an incision and out came an intact adult Brewer's Blackbird! Dead, of course. Suddenly there were quite a lot of people in the room to see this! Dr. Bowman said to note down the blackbird's measurements as well as those of the owl and put both birds in formalin. The two birds were in the SF State Biology Department collection for several years after that day, but I'm not sure if they're still there or not.
   I relate this story to illustrate why the presence of a pair of Great Horned Owls anywhere near my yard has given me some serious dyspepsia! Olive is about 8" tall and could easily become a late night snack for a Great Horned Owl whose height varies from 18" to 24!" A Brewer's Blackbird measures from 8-9" tall. So, stay tuned. I'll post tonight about Olive's continuing presence in the box - or about the other possibility. Admittedly, if she doesn't show up in the box, it doesn't mean she's dead. She could have heard the GHO's last night - in fact she probably DID hear them - and may have decided to seek shelter elsewhere. I REALLY want to tell you, though, that she's still in the box!

Dec. 19 - New anxiety

   Each evening as I watch Olive before she leaves the box, I whisper, "Good luck hunting, be careful, and come back!" I know she can't hear or understand me, but it's my talisman for keeping her in our yard. She left the box last night (Dec. 19) at 5:05PM, looking so fierce, but so small. At 10:20PM, as Ivan and I were about to get into bed, I thought I heard some strange kind of music being played outside. I opened the sliding glass door to the yard and, FROM OUR YARD, came the unmistakeable call of a Great Horned Owl. The call was answered by another GHO who was a bit farther away. Great Horned Owls are VERY big and, no joke, they EAT Screech Owls. The GHO's called a couple more times, making me extremely anxious. During their calling, I went outside (it had stopped raining) and said, "Please go away. Normally we would be delighted to have you in our yard, but we already have an owl and we don't want you here." I will be very concerned until I see Olive tonight in the opening of the box!  Even then, if the GHO's stick around, Olive, Oliver and any kids they have this spring would be in great danger.  My fingers are crossed that the GHO's found a lovely nest tree about 10 miles away! I'll post again tonight after I've seen Olive (and given her more serious instructions re being careful).

Nov. 22 - Olive Watch continues . . .

Olive is a puzzle at her easiest.  I didn't check the box until 4:45 this afternoon.  Sun had set, but it was still pretty light.  She was in the opening, staring intently at something a bit to her right (toward our back fence).  Try as I did, without giving away my prurient interest in her and her activities, I was unable to see what had captured her interest.  I can watch her for hours - she's endlessly fascinating in her visual preparations for departing her home.  I was, I might add, in my thin-stockinged feet - no shoes.  It was 50°, overcast, with calm winds, but the concrete under my feet was COLD.  She was giving all the signs of preparing to leave - yawning, looking around quickly, shifting her position in the opening.  Suddenly (at 5:00PM) she flew straight ahead out of the box - EAST!! - into the redwoods in the pool yard!  This after my post of Nov. 10 that she never flew east, always north or south!  Well, my brain saw an opportunity here, but I had to act quickly.  I ran into the house to the kitchen back door, slipped into my tennies, and ran - slowly - to the redwoods.  Checked Tree #1, no Olive, Tree #2, no Olive, #3 (they're NEVER in #3), and was about to turn around and give up when, in the looming dark, I saw her on a branch about 7' high, in Tree #4.  She was watching me, sitting quite still, but with her ear tufts up, possibly meaning she was a bit alarmed by my lumbering about.  I greeted her quietly with my usual "Hi, Olive" and backed up to Tree #2.  I REALLY didn't want to just go away, so I hid (in human terms) behind Tree #2 and watched her for as long as my poor human eyes could see her on her branch - it was getting REALLY dark.  Eventually, I decided I would probably score points with her if I humbly left the area and went indoors.  This I did, but I was filled with joy with the knowledge that she did NOT fly away when I showed up among the redwoods.  So, please change the assertion I made that she doesn't fly into the pool yard.  I hope she flies there every night - then I can head out there and see if I can spot her.  What an absolute delight it is to have her like our yard!

The Observation Set-up and a Tale of Adventure!

  This is what I would see if I moved off the little step just outside our bedroom where the "blind" is. The greenish shrub in the center is a forsythia in which Hermit thrushes, Bewick's wrens and Oak titmice fuss and forage. Photo was taken last spring and the ladder is no longer propped up there.

   This is the side of the "blind" I stand on. The odd-looking thing in the middle of the black cloth is where the scope goes and I pin the material around the lens, so Olive doesn't see any movement.

   And this is what Olive sees when she sits in the opening of her box. The green material is shade cloth which I put there several years ago. Obviously, the hole is for the lens of the spotting scope.
   On Nov. 2, I was watching Olive as she prepared to leave. Suddenly, as I watched through the scope, she became fixated on - what seemed to me to be - me! She stared at something that I could not see and dared not attempt to see. Then she flew - straight at me! In a second or so I heard a small scritching sound and then she flew to a pin oak about 15' from me, and in view of me without the scope! I ran inside and told Ivan that she had caught something and was in the pin oak. We rushed outside with our binocs and watched her toss some small thing into her mouth. The only thing we saw well was a short tail as it went down her throat! Mind you, where I stand - and where she had seen a MOUSE - is about 50' from her box. This all happened at 6:15PM, just after the sun had gone down and dusk was settling. Talk about remarkable vision!

Nov. 10 - Portrait of an Owl

   This photo was taken a few minutes before Olive left for the night the other evening. She's becoming sort of  predictable when she's about to leave. She looks left, right, up, down, then opens and closes her beak a couple of times. Finally, she seems to be adjusting her shoulders, leans out and flies away. I'm pretty sure that this bird is NOT Oliver, but whether it's our Olive, or another female, is not really known to us.  I think it's not Oliver for 2 reasons - one is that she always flies out of the box and makes an immediate left (for her) turn, flying north. The other reason I think it's not Oliver is that she sits in the opening of the box for only 10-15 minutes or so. Oliver used to sit in the opening for some 45 minutes each night. If we could get a full frontal view of her, we could see if she had the spots on her chest that Olive had, or we could see if she (he) has the spot that looks like an upside down hockey stick on her right side (which Oliver had).

Nov. 8, 2010 - Departures

Olive has been leaving the box just a bit earlier each night.  The overcast weather the other day seemed to make her think it was darker - and later - than it actually was and she left quite early, but these past few nights, her departure times hover around 5PM.

Nov. 2, 2010 - pre-departure

      I decided that the door to the box needed to be closed after watching (let's call him) Oliver prepare to leave the box. He moved around near the open bottom of the door and I was concerned that he was going to try to leave through that small opening! He surely had not entered the box that way! Anyway, he peered out that opening for several minutes before I saw him fluffing out his feathers and yawning. All of a sudden he was in the round - and proper - opening to the box. He sat there, as he used to, for several minutes before flying straight out to the redwoods. Ivan and I took the ladder to the tree holding the box, I climbed up, closed the door and latched it.  Now Oliver has complete privacy in the box. Maybe, without all the olive twigs in the box, it will appeal to Olive as a place to start their next family!

The month and day on the time stamp are reversed.
This photo was taken yesterday, Nov. 1.

Nov. 1 - a few minutes later . . . .

Look closely . . . !

Nov. 1, 2010 - He's back, maybe!

I'm doing my best not to get my hopes up, up, up (I'm actually not doing it very well!), but there is a screech owl in the nest box!!  This morning I was alerted to something going on in that yard by the gang of titmice, wrens, warblers, etc who were scolding and scolding and all their noise was directed at the box.  About a week ago I checked the box (by climbing up the ladder) and found that a squirrel had brought a couple of pieces of shredded bark into it.  I swept those out and opened the door wide so they wouldn't go back in.  In the ensuing couple of days, the door has almost completely closed, but it's open enough that I could see the lovely shape and coloring of a screech owl!!  I'm going to see if Ivan will try to get a photo of the semi-open door and the owl lurking inside.  I am jazzed!

Sept. 30, 2010

For now, this will be the last report on our little Western Screech Owl family for 2010.  We've seen no owls for the past week.  I've done an owl check at least twice a day for the past 7 days and have seen none.  Yes, my heart was broken the first time I didn't see them, but Ivan and I both have confidence that they'll be back.
I think the olive sticks we had in the owl box had been brought in there by a squirrel, but those sticks are now gone and the interior is newly redecorated with - NOTHING!  I'm keeping a sharp eye on the box to be sure that no squirrels of any sort move in.  I'm also going to pretend I'm 8 years old and am going to climb trees #2, #4 and #5 to see if I can figure out which tree was the nest tree.  I'll post what I find - if anything.

Sept. 21, 2010

This took place just now, on 21 Sept. 2010 between 7:00PM and 7:18PM.  I went out to see if I could watch Olive leave for the night.  I had seen her this morning, but didn't see her on my later Owl Check.  At 7PM, I checked all the trees, sans binocs, but saw no one.  At about 7:10, I was walking very slowly back towards the edge of the wall, when I heard the soft trill of a Western Screech Owl.  It seemed as though the owl was in tree #2, right above me.  I was standing next to #3.  I waited.  I very quietly moved to #2 and leaned up against it, with my back on the trunk.  The owl trilled once again, then I saw movement.  From the top of #2, the owl flew to #5 and sat on the lowest branch, with her back to me.  I silently (to me) approached and stopped at #3, about 15' from where she sat.  She bobbed a bit and flew to the fence.  I heard her land on the fence and I walked extremely slowly and quietly to #4.  She sat for a few moments - maybe one minute - bobbed a bit and flew out of my sight.
I had been mourning the loss of our owls, understanding that they must move on, but missing them acutely.  Seeing Olive - or the owl I'm assuming to be Olive - was so reassuring, so wonderful that I will continue checking for her, or any other owl, in the redwoods of our yard as often as I can.

Aug. 18, 2010

       Ivan took this last night when we went to the redwoods to see if we could photo any of the owls.  We almost walked right smack into Othello who was sitting at about eye level watching us as we bumbled around.  I didn't see any of them and said they must have flown when Ivan spotted him about 5' away from us!  He sat quietly, watching, as Ivan took several photos.  'Smitten' pretty well sums up how I feel about this little guy!

Othello

Aug 17, 2010

         Olive has returned in all her diminutive loveliness!  There seems to be a new twist on the story of our little owls, though.  Last night when all three were preparing to go hunting, Oscar flew from his tree and Olive lit out after him in what I surmised to be a 'get-the-heck-out-of-here' chase.  I have no knowledge of whether she has done this before, but Oscar seemed a bit flummoxed by this turn of events.  He crashed into a couple of branches and when he attempted to return to one of our redwoods, she chased him away again.  This raises a couple of questions.  Is Oscar actually a female, and Olive wants her out of her (Olive's) territory now that (s)he (Oscar) is managing on her own?  Is Oscar a male and Olive wants him to find his own territory?  And what about Othello?  He seemed completely unfazed by Olive's aggressive behavior toward the affable Oscar.  Anyway, we still have three owls.

Aug 6, 2010

        Ivan and I have just returned from a 5-day trip to visit with family and friends in Pennsylvania, a quick, but really wonderful trip.

         For several days before we left, I had seen sometimes one, sometimes two, but never all three of the owl family.  I was sorry to note that Olive was the one we didn't see any longer.  I figured she had flown to wherever these owls go when their families are all grown up.  Ivan and I hoped that she would drag Oliver back here next February to restart their familial activities.  Oscar and/or Othello were seen each day before we left.  They had grown used to my visiting them a couple of times each day, sometimes calmly watching me behave like a raving lunatic when the blinkety-blank jays were in their hysteria mode.  We wondered what, if anything, would happen while we were absent from the yard.

         We got home very late on Wednesday evening, so the owl check had to wait until morning.  In the morning I got up while it was still dark and walked around in the redwoods as it got light.  I saw no owls.  I was sort of expecting that, but was disappointed nonetheless.  Much later, at around 7:45PM (beginning to be dusk), I did the nightly check and, lo and behold, there was Othello gazing down on me from a branch about 8' up Tree #3.  I spoke quietly to him and asked where his brother was.  He said nothing.  I took that to mean that perhaps Oscar was still well hidden.  (Pay attention now - this is the REALLY good part of this episode!)  As I continued my walk the jays began screeching and one of them was just above me.  I loaded a rubber band in my gun, aimed carefully through all the foliage and shot.  The rubber band hit him!!!  Took him completely by surprise, pissed him off and he flew away, hollering and complaining.  I danced a little jig and continued with the search.  (For those of you who may worry about my being mean or cruel to the jays, hitting the bird with the rubber band from about 12' away would be equivalent to throwing a marshmallow and hitting the bird.  The jay didn't even lose a single feather, but was he ever mad!)

         I walked around Tree #4 and, with my binoculars, I spotted Oscar waaay up, just under a tangle of branches.  He, of course, had spotted me long before that!  I told him how delighted I was that he was ok and I went back inside the house.  I told Ivan of their presence and he asked if they were in a good spot for a photo.  I said I thought Othello was, but Oscar was not.  We went outside around 8:10 (by now it was truly dusk) and both kids were preparing for their nightly hunts, both in Tree #3.  Othello stretched one of his wings, scooted out from right next to the trunk of the tree and flew - absolutely silently - about 3 branches away, but still in #3.  All of a sudden, a third owl - OLIVE! - landed on a branch near Othello, after flying about 3' above our heads!  I was outwardly quiet, but was shrieking with delight to see her.  She spent a few seconds looking at us and then she and the 2 kids were off.

         Telling these three owls apart is actually still pretty simple.  I KNOW Olive, almost on sight, and Othello still has his baby fuzz around his face.  As they prepared to go hunting, they had fluffed their feathers out and looked about twice their actual size.  When they're roosting during the day, they look so small and vulnerable.

         So, that's the latest from Owl Central.  We're off to Norway in about 12 days, so the owls truly will have the yard to themselves.  It would be so wonderful if they staked a claim to our yard and stayed here, or at least came back next season. 

July 27, 2010

       Yesterday was a stressful one, but in a good way, sort of.  All day I was battling with the jays.  Olive was sleeping in Tree #1, her usual  spot.  The jays don't seem to bother her much, maybe because she really looks like a part of the redwood tree where she sleeps.  In addition, she just doesn't move even if they do spot her.  Oscar and Othello, on the other hand, seem to poke a rage button in the jays and those jays are relentless.  Oscar has been spending the days in a tree in my neighbor's yard, across a dirt road behind our yard.  There are some really tall trees in his yard and I've not been able to actually see Oscar over there, but nothing arouses the ire of the jays like a cute baby owl.  Othello has his usual safe spot in Tree #2, but yesterday the only owl I could see, all day, was Olive.  Yet the jays were screeching and yowling all day and I could tell that they were in the yard behind us.  I hoped that the two kids were safe, but I knew they weren't hidden very well if the jays were on to them.
            Ivan and I had our supper outside as usual and, for once, it was quiet.  We went back inside around 7:30 and about 10 minutes later the jay racket began once again.  I knew the owls would be getting ready for the evening's activities, so I grabbed my rubber band gun and raced outside.  Olive was asleep in Tree #1.  The jays seemed to be concentrated around #4 and #5 and they were in our yard.  I ran over there, but had no clear shot so I was banging on the branches with my gun, and standing on the fence in my efforts to see where, exactly, they were.  I had checked the tops of the trees where the kids usually stay, but neither was there.  The jays were so strident, I just knew that they must have the owls cornered somewhere.  After about 10 minutes of racing around banging on branches and trying to make the jays go away, I paused and noticed that it was very quiet.  The jays had left my yard.  My heart was beating very fast as I climbed down from the fence.  I turned to go back to check on Olive and was absolutely astonished to see Othello, then Oscar, sitting on branches of Tree #4 about 5' from me!  Both were staring at me and they looked so tiny!  I returned the stare, dumbstruck, then walked away as calmly as I could.  I hurried into the house and told Ivan to grab his camera and come outside.  I figured the two owls would surely have retreated to the top of the tree, but they were still sitting on their branches.  These little guys are surely the cutest owls ever!  Below are 2 of the photos Ivan took.  Below each photo I'll tell you who it is and how I know.

This is Othello, the baby.  
Look at his chest - he has almost no vertical stripes, but has the horizontal stripes that he had when we first saw him.  
Still has some baby fuzz, though.  I saw him first yesterday evening and had to resist the urge to go over and touch him!

This is Oscar, the owl who was knocked out of the tree the other day.  Take a look at his chest.  
He, to those who don't really know him like we do, looks like an adult, complete with the vertical markings on his chest.  
His fuzz is gone.  Don't his feet look big?!  
I tell you, I'm just totally smitten with these guys!  
(NOTE:  Each of these little owls is about 6" tall right now.)

July 22, 2010 - Attack!

         Just when we thought things were settling into a pleasant and oddly smooth maturation process for our little owls, Oscar had to put a big scare into us.  Last night, when we were almost finished with supper, at about 7:30, we heard an odd sound - not a voice sound, but a sudden rustling noise - coming from the redwoods where Olive and her 2 remaining kids live.  We looked up and saw this flapping bundle plummet to the ground and lay still.  We rushed over to the retaining wall and saw one of the babies lying on the ground.  I ran to him and picked him up.  He seemed stunned, but nothing looked broken and there was no obvious blood.  His talons were spread, but when I put my finger into them, there was no closing response.  This was alarming because he should have closed his little talons around my finger.  We wondered if he had been poisoned - not from anything in our yard, but possibly from wherever he was in the habit of hunting.  I handed him to Ivan and said I was going to get a box so I could take him to the vet or to the raptor rehab place.  I turned to go in the house and Ivan said I might want to wait on the box.  I turned around to see Oscar sitting up in Ivan's hand!  Improvement!  I took him from Ivan who went inside to get his camera.  I again put my finger in his talons and he closed them!  More improvement!  Ivan and I sat on the retaining wall for several minutes and Ivan suggested that I try to put him on a redwood branch, especially since he was most familiar with that specific area.  I walked slowly and carefully up the short slope and put him by the branch.  He readily stood on it.  Ivan took a final photo and we went inside the house.  I went out about 15 minutes later and he was gone!  I carefully checked the ground - no owl.  I looked up and saw Olive and Othello in the top of the tree where I had placed Oscar.  I went to Tree #2 and looked up and there he was - up high in his usual place looking down at me!  I was thrilled!  I gave him a quick thumbs up, admonished him to be safe, and went back inside the house.  Much as I loved holding him, I want him to be well and not do that any more!  I'd much rather watch him from afar as he grows into an adult.

         So, as you've gathered, we're down to 3 owls.  Ivan and I think that Oliver may have been the bird responsible for the piles of feathers seen a couple of weeks ago. Because he hasn't been seen since that day, we're assuming that he was killed.  Opal hasn't been seen since July 13.  Othello, the baby, is unmistakable in his horizontally striped plumage and Oscar is looking almost like an adult.  The photos below are of Oscar, whom, I believe, was knocked out of his tree as he prepared to go hunting.  The %$#! jays were active, but no vocalizations were heard just before Oscar dropped to the ground.  The jay attack is, of course, pure speculation by me, but is certainly possible.  This morning I spotted Olive sitting in Tree #1, her usual spot, but no babies.  That's not that unusual - generally they spend the day in Tree #2 hidden away and come out only if it's beastly hot.  I'll check again tonight and I'm hopeful that we'll all be back to normal!

Oscar, right after his attack by, probably, a jay.

Back on his branch

July 14, 2010

         No sign of Olive, but the 2 younger owls, Oscar and Othello, were in their usual pre-hunting spot in Tree #4.  Othello is as reliably found on the same branch of the same tree every day as the sun is reliable in rising!  He is the baby and is sooo cute.  His sibling, Oscar, was sitting on a branch just behind and a teeny bit above where Othello was sitting.  They appeared to be sitting back to back.  Othello gazed at me with a teeny bit of alarm, but he looked mostly calm.  Oscar was in full pre-hunt mode, flapping his wings, bobbing up and down while looking all around.  He flew to Tree #5 and sat facing me, so I was under inspection of two baby owls.  He seemed to be waiting for Othello to join him and I knew that I'd already caused enough disruption in their daily routine so I came in the house.  All this happened around 8:15, so it was getting dark quickly.  I hope Olive will forgive my intrusion and come back.

July 13, 2010

        This story is still going on right under our proverbial noses!  Olive, Opal, Oscar and Othello have been observed on an almost nightly basis in the redwoods in our back yard.  Oliver has not reported for his assignment for many days now.  We have many speculative guesses as to what he's up to - departed for more adventures, departed this life, we just don't know.  Here's how we recognize the others:  Olive has two big black spots on the right side of her chest.  Oliver had one long black spot that looked sort of like an oar, wider at the base than at the top.  Olive's spots are side by side.  Opal, the oldest of the babies, has the most adult plumage, but her fuzzy ears give her away as one of the babies.  Oscar, the next in age, has an almost adult face, but the rest of his plumage is very fuzzy.  He has lost his horizontal stripes.  Othello, the baby, still has horizontal stripes and is fuzzy all over.  He also looks completely distressed when he spots me skulking about in the redwoods in the early evenings.  The others look at me, then get bored and go back to sleep.
            Tonight we had 2 amazing and exciting things happen.  As we ate dinner, Ivan suddenly pointed toward the redwoods and said, "There she goes!" as Olive, who had been sitting all day in Tree #1, flew toward where we were sitting, turned and - - - disappeared.  I knew she had to be close and we started searching the roof edges, the trellis, and the eaves of the house.  She was sitting in what could best be called a cubby where two parts of the roof meet making a, well, cubby with a third part of the roof.  She was invisible from above, from below and from all directions except due east.  I grabbed the spotting scope and digiscoped this photo:

            But wait!  That wasn't the end of the fun!  I went back to the redwoods and watched Oscar and Othello as they began their nightly foray into the world of large bugs and tiny rodents.  Ivan watched Olive.  Once the two kids were away, I went back to join Ivan who said Olive was getting ready to leave.  I went into the bedroom because the motion-sensitive light had come on.  I thought maybe she had set it off.  I walked to the sidewalk, looked into the pool yard and there she was!!  Hard to describe how cute she looked, perched on a 4" tall light fixture!  I shouted to Ivan to get out here with his camera.  He did and took this photo:

July 12 later that morning . . . .

        The good news is that all 4 owls are now in hiding, where they should be.  There have been a lot of crows as well as jays around so I'm glad that they're no longer flaunting their presence.

July 12, 2010

            There are 4 owls right out in the open right now.  Three babies in Tree #3 and Olive in #1.  When I say 'right out in the open,' I mean out in the middle of branches, not even close to the trunk of the tree!  Earlier they were at least next to the trunks of the trees - now they're clearly visible with no need to search.  Why they haven't gone into the nest cavity is a complete mystery to me.  Anyway, I have my rubber band gun at the ready for the jays and/or crows, should I need it. 

June 28, 2010

        Three owls - Olive and two of the babies - are enjoying the cool down from 105° earlier today.  It's a balmy 104.2° now.  Last night I was able to find only 2 babies.  I had to restrain myself from dancing a jig in spite of the heat when I found the three enjoying the shade directly under the tangle of foliage that was probably their nest cavity.  Olive slept through my subdued greeting and the other two watched as I crept by.  Finding them is an indescribable delight after the potentially awful findings of the other day.  I have hope for the other two.  Oliver is a pretty savvy guy and may even be INSIDE the nest cavity, although I can't believe that it's very comfortable in this heat.

June 27, 2010 - A disturbing find

         This morning, while inspecting a part of our front yard that doesn't get much attention, I noticed, with a great deal of dismay, 3 or 4 small collections of 8-10 feathers each, feathers with brown and tan rows on them, probably owl feathers.  There were no bones, no body parts, just many feathers.  Did one of our owls get killed in a scrap with a raccoon or skunk or, worst of all, a vermin cat?  Did one of our owls survive said scrap, losing only a bunch of feathers?  It's hard to tell if the feathers are those of a youngster or an adult.  The tips are worn, meaning they probably belonged to an adult, but the feathers of one of our babies would probably look worn by now too.  In addition, the babies are in the process of getting their juvenal plumage and their feathers might come away from their bodies more easily than an adult's would.  The non-discovery of bones or body parts could mean that, if the owl were killed, whatever killed it either ate it right there, or took the whole body away.  A cat would kill it and leave it.  Another unknown is that we don't know when the feathers were deposited there.  The last time I was in that area was about 4 months ago!  The feathers did look pretty fresh, but we had rain last Friday morning, and the feathers looked like they had not been in rain.
            I did a thorough check of the redwoods in the back yard and found one of our babies in his or her usual spot, but these owls are so good at secreting themselves in the jumble of branches at the tops of the redwoods, they could all have been up there somewhere!  Anyway, we'll look carefully tonight.

June 25, 2010

         Last evening, the stroll in the redwoods revealed only Opal, Oscar and Othello, two in one tree and one in the tree next to it.  We're pretty sure the parents were watching us from an exceptionally good hiding spot, but we never saw either of them.  Ivan snapped these photos a little after 8PM.  Opal is the solo subject, Oscar & Othello the duo.  Really, though, we have no idea who is who!  (BTW, we're not sure what's going on with Oscar and Othello's noses, but they look a bit raw.  Hope there's nothing wrong.)

Opal

Oscar & Othello

June 20, 2010

        I think my adrenaline is back to measurable amounts by now because my heart rate is back to non-alarming levels, and my hands aren't shaking any longer.  Let me start with yesterday's non-sighting.  In the late afternoon yesterday, I did a circuit of the redwoods and saw no owls.  Disappointed, yes, but I knew they would leave someday.  Anyway, ever hopeful, I did a circuit around 6:30PM today, slowly, carefully, and saw nothing.  We had finished dinner and gone inside when I heard the unmistakeable racket of the Orcs, commonly known as Western Scrub Jays.  And there were a lot of them.  And they were making their racket in the redwoods just above the pool.  I raced outside, not bothering to put on shoes and, as I headed up into the redwoods, I realized I needed the tennis balls.  The racket was so loud I thought I would scream, but I ran into the other yard, grabbed three tennis balls and raced back to the trees.  First thing I saw was a cluster of three baby Screech owls with two jays screaming at them from a distance of about 6 feet.  I was instantly enraged and threw a tennis ball at the jays who left in a hurry.  The tennis ball ended up in the pool.  Then I couldn't decide what to do about the others who were harrassing not only Olive, who was in a tree about 2 feet from me and about 7 feet above the ground, but Oliver who was in a tree just beyond the babies.  All five of the owls were looking at me as I nearly went insane trying to protect them from these *&%*#!! jays.  I shouted to Ivan and he came out with his camera while I continued to dispatch the jays who finally left.  The owls continued to gaze at me, as though they understood that I would never, ever, hurt them.  I almost cried at that point because two of the three babies were jammed together next to the trunk and the third was on a branch just under the two.  They looked so cute, so frightened - and so vulnerable.  I have now declared war on the jays in my yard.  Anyway, the long and short of it is that for the first time in recorded history, there were FIVE (5) (V) Western Screech Owls in our yard and within sight, without even needing to turn one's head!  Ivan and I have been high-fiving each other for the past 20 minutes!

         So, below are a couple of the photos Ivan took after I sent the jays packing.

This is Olive

This is Oliver (He has a black mark on his right side that looks like an upside down hockey stick)

The kids

June 17, 2010

            I used the pretense of picking up fallen redwood branches, twigs, & miscellaneous debris in the back yard, all the while searching the trees for any small bump that didn't look like part of the tree.  I saw nothing.  I resigned myself to the possibility that our star owls had had enough of picture-taking and had moved on.  I actually did 2 searches but found nothing.  I gave Ivan the bad news when he came home.  While we were having dinner outside, my nemesis, the Scrub jay, flew into a redwood and began shrieking.  I walked quietly to the trees and there they were! Well, two of them.  Ivan set up with his camera and took 21 photos at around 8:20 this evening.  Where these two were during the day is a mystery to me, but we were thrilled to have them back! 

June 16, 2010

            OK, we goofed.  We actually don't have two baby owlets - we have THREE!!!  Not sure how the newly christened Othello got missed yesterday, but he can clearly be seen in the second photo below.  The lone owl in the first photo is Olive (we're assuming).  At any rate, it's NOT Oliver, previous tenant of the owl box.  I know this because I memorized his facial pattern.  Ivan and I are both 100% smitten with these little charmers.  We hope they stay a long time, but we have no control over that.  We're - at least I'm - in full protection mode.  Any verminous cats coming in our yard better have full body armor, and any Scrub jays, well, those plans are still evolving.  Hurling tennis balls at them is still a good option. 

This is Olive, the Mom

Meet (top to bottom) Opal, Oscar, & Othello

June 15, addendum

        We're proud to show you the photos of our two Grand-owlets!  Opal, our first, is the darker of the two and the one I reported first. (Understand that we really don't KNOW the sex of either of these darlings. I like the idea of an older sister, rather than an older brother.  It's one of those "Been there - done that" kind of things!) Her photo will be first.  Oscar, her brother, is the second one photographed by Ivan.  (I shudder to think what a photo taken by me would look like!)  I was flabbergasted to realize that there are two of them, perched about 2 feet apart on different branches.  

         I have to tell you that, to the naked eye, these two birds actually LOOK like baby birds.  In the photos, they look like adults!  With the unaided eye (namely, mine) they look white and have a very scruffy appearance.  When I saw Ivan's first photo, I said, "That's Olive.  Where's Opal?"  Anyway, meet Opal and Oscar.  Charming beyond expectation!

Meet Opal

Meet Oscar

June 15, 2010

            After we saw the 2 owls last night, Ivan suggested that I "search" the redwoods to see if they're roosting in them.  I was cleaning up out there and suddenly remembered about the owls.  I looked in the tree closest to me - nothing.  Walked toward the next one, looked up and saw this little fuzzy face looking at me with what appeared to be a bit of alarm.  In spite of severe tachycardia, mixed with supreme joy, I casually walked away then raced into the house for my little camera.  Casually walked back, but by then my hands were shaking so bad I wasn't sure if I actually got the little owl's photo.  I know it's a bit out of focus, but it's clearly a rumpled-looking screech owl!  So, here's my theory.  Olive was actually Oliver.  He and Olive had a nest somewhere else and raised one owlet.  This is about the right time for the kid to leave the nest and they know that this yard is fairly safe.  I think the owls we saw last night were Olive(r) and the baby.  This is way too cool!  The baby is sooo cute.  I may avoid that area now so I don't spook the little creature.

June 14, 2010

       I am about to report something wonderful/puzzling/fabulous/etc.  I worry that you all will think I've lost my mind.  The only consolation I have is that Ivan saw it with me.

         We had dinner outside tonight at a respectably late hour - around 7:45PM.  Still lots of light.  After finishing our meal, we sat there enjoying our mere 4 hummers - 2 Black-chinned and 2 Anna's - and watching a Brown Towhee attempt to bathe in a tiny birdbath.  Delilah, a Mourning Dove, was snoozing on her nest above us.  The next things that happened were so confusing and so quick, we were gasping for breath.  We were watching a hummer at the feeder near Delilah when we both saw what we thought, at first glance, was a cat.  Within a nanosecond we knew it was  skunk - and I got alarmed because it was still daylight!  It was running along the fence and slipped under the fence at a place I've been meaning to plug up for some time now.  As the skunk neared his "escape," 2 birds flew from the redwoods, first one, then about 2 seconds later another one.  At first we thought they were hawks of some variety, but the shape was totally wrong.  Absolutely silent too.  I stood up to see if I might spot one in the redwood toward which it had been flying.  I saw something and went to get the binocs which were on the kitchen table.  I came back, focused on the shape I saw and was overcome with joy to see OLIVE!!!  Truth be told, I can say with certainty that it was a Screech owl, but whether it was Olive or not is not really known.  The other bird we had seen was an owl too - they were almost identical in shape and silent flight.  I searched the redwoods, but the one I saw had flown out of sight.  Ivan thinks they were roosting in the redwoods and had just left to go hunting.  I'll do a check of those trees tomorrow.  We're not sure what, if anything, the skunk had to do with their departure, but we both felt weak in the knees after all that excitement!

         I checked Olive's box, but it's clean as a whistle.  I stuffed 2 bricks in the space under the fence where our scented friend had made his escape.  So, now we're trying to figure out what these 2 owls were doing.  Are they 2 ladies?  2 boys?  A couple that wasn't successful in breeding?  If I could see the face of one or both, I could tell if it was Olive.  She had a distinctive pattern of stripes and curves on her face.  I never thought I'd see her again.  Maybe I haven't, but I sure enjoy the thought that maybe we have!

May 20, 2010

        It's with a fair amount of disappointment that I submit this, I think my last, Olive report.  At around noon today, after having three successive evenings without a sighting of our favorite owl, Ivan and I did a "scratch test" of the tree Olive's box is on.  Had she been there, she would have popped into the opening to see what was making the noise.  She didn't.  I climbed the ladder, opened the box and saw nothing but the collection of small, now very brittle, olive twigs.  I removed all that and swept out the interior, noting no sign that there had ever been anything but Olive in the box.

         You probably have at least as many questions as I do.  Where did she go?  Why did she leave?  Might Olive have actually been Oliver?  Was she the creature that brought all the twigs into the box?  (We have only circumstantial evidence that she was responsible.  We never actually saw her bring anything into the box.)  I have no answers.

         The box is now ready for a proper nesting pair of Western Screech Owls, but that won't happen at least until next year.  The scenario would be this:  in late January/early February we should start hearing the male calling during the night, by mid-Feb., assuming the pair has found, and likes, our box, the female should be in the box during the day.  The pair should mate in late March/early April and eggs should be present no later than the last week of April.  At this point, the female doesn't leave the nest at all, spending her time brooding the eggs.  Her mate brings her food, but he does no brooding of the eggs.  Once the eggs hatch, the female continues brooding the nestlings and the male continues to feed her, and she feeds the nestlings.  Once the nestlings have a bit of feathering, she will leave them to hunt, and brings them food.  According to owlpages.com, they have 3-4 eggs on average, incubation period is about 26 days and the fledging period is about 35 days.  They do mate for life, but if a mate is killed or dies, the other will find another mate.  This website also states that, "Western Screech Owls can fall prey to Northern Goshawks, Cooper's Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Spotted Owls, Long-eared Owls, Great Gray Owls, Short-eared Owls, mink, weasels, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, snakes, and crows."  I might add that (vermin) housecats can easily take this little owl.

         So, the story of our Olive has come to a conclusion, but, we hope not to an end.  Rest assured that if she returns, doesn't freak out at the removal of her furniture, and moves back in, you'll be the second to know about it!

May 16, 2010

         Ivan and I were away from our house for 11 days, from May 1-11.  When we came back, we were pleased to see Olive in her box the evening of the 11th.  Next evening, same thing.  Next evening she didn't show up and the next evening, I became a bit alarmed when she didn't show up once again.  Too many possibilities made me concerned.  Last night I stationed myself at the scope every 10 minutes starting at 7:05PM.  Finally, as I went to check at 7:48, I heard the titmouse pitching a total hissy fit and I was delighted to see Olive's familiar face peering out from the box.  It required a significant amount of self-control for me NOT to shriek, "OLIVE!! How nice to see you!" so I just whispered it.  I took her photo - here it is:

         I stayed at the scope watching her because I didn't want to miss her departure. At 8:07, she did something I thought was really interesting.  When she first comes to the opening, she generally seems sleepy and is probably letting her eyes get used to the light.  As sunset approaches, she seems to become more alert, looking all around.  Sometimes, something catches her attention and she stares fixedly at whatever she sees.  Since I'm behind the "blind", I can't usually see what she's interested in, but last night she stared straight ahead for only a moment before straightening herself up, erecting her little ear tufts until she looked impossibly thin, then she ducked back into the box.  A second later I heard the obnoxious screeches of the resident Scrub Jays who were now just above her box.  I grabbed the tennis balls and prepared to hurl them at the jays, but something else got their attention and they left the yard.  I could see just the top of Olive's head and her eyes looking at me, so I went back to the scope.  At 8:10 she was back in the opening and at 8:12 she flew, taking an immediate left turn to fly out toward our street, the opposite direction from which she had seen the jays fly.  Smart little cookie, that Olive!

April 24, 2010

        I report with some melancholy that Olive has not laid any eggs yet.  We checked the box last night as soon as she left, only to find that the previously soft olive twigs inside are now as brittle as toothpicks and there are no eggs.  If she hasn't laid any eggs by now, we're thinking she isn't going to.  Explanation?  Well, it's possible that Olive could be more correctly called Oliver.  Not going to try to check out that possibility!  Another, more grim, possibility is that Oliver enticed her to the box, she moved in and then, sometime prior to mating, Oliver was killed.  I can think of no other possibilities.  
         I do think Olive is correctly named because all the references say the males don't use nest boxes, not even for daytime roosting.  But then, as Ivan pointed out, the books also say that W. screech owls don't bring any nesting material into the box and yet she brought all those olive twigs into the box.  I had cleaned it out just prior to their arrival.  Was there time for a squirrel to bring the twigs in?
         Anyway, we'll continue to watch for her each evening and, every 2 weeks or so, we'll check the box, but I'm not anticipating any stupendous finds.  We're just thrilled to have her as one of our avian tenants.

April 16, 2010

       I took 2 photos of Olive last night.  She first appeared at the opening of her box pretty early, leading me to wonder if the box gets hot, now that the weather has become very pleasant. Within seconds of her appearance at the opening, her neighbor, a nesting Oak titmouse, set up a fearsome racket.  Olive looked like she simply could not care less.  That's the first photo - "Listening to the titmouse."  After a couple of minutes, she realized that the source of the scolding was flying around right outside her box.  She then became extra alert and leaned way outside the box in what seemed like an attempt to zero in on the location of the titmouse.  Might this be a first course of her supper . . . ?
         Today - Friday - isn't a "Check-the-box-for-eggs" day, so the box will remain closed and mysterious.  She does remain the cutest owl that has ever lived in our yard.

LISTENING TO the Titmouse

LOOKING FOR the Titmouse!

April 9, 2010

         Olive is a most interesting subject.  She's still departing the box at times that I'm recording in a little notebook.  Her departure time gets a little later each evening.  Last night, she and I had an interesting, for me anyway, interaction.  I wanted to see exactly where she leaves our yard, so I stationed myself at the far end of our yard near where I've observed her to fly over the fence.  I found her with the scope as she sat in the opening of the nest box.  She was looking right at me.  In spite of my best efforts to wave away the mosquitoes flying around my face, efforts that I thought were calm and reasonable, she saw me each time I moved.  When she flew from the box, instead of flying past me, as she would have if I hadn't been there, she took an immediate left turn and departed our yard heading north (normally she heads east).  Experiment #1 with location change - resounding failure!

         This evening, when she flew (of course, along her normal path), I donned my utility apron which held a mirror, pliers and a small flashlight and I quickly went to the ladder.  Climbed up, opened the box, and was disappointed, but not surprised, to find no eggs.  Closed the box, descended and came in to do my notes.

            So that's where we stand as of this minute.  Will she have eggs at some later date?  This year?  Is she really a he?  I have no idea.  I do know that having her here, in the nest box which we put up, is one of the most supreme pleasures I've experienced in my bird-watching life.  I do hope she has a family this year, but at the very least, we have a unique opportunity to closely observe one of nature's smallest owls as she goes about her life's activities.

March 31, 2010

         Just a quick post to note that Olive has apparently forgiven us for invading her space the other night.  We had typical schizophrenic weather yesterday, with periods of brilliant sunshine alternating with overcast skies, winds and spitting rain.  I kept watching the box every 15 minutes from 6PM on - no Olive.  I was getting worried when Ivan checked at 7:15PM and announced that she was in the entrance, looking quite content.

         I think we'll look in the box every 2 weeks to see what, if anything, is happening.  Meanwhile, some 20 feet away from Olive's nest box, our Oak titmice are raising another brood in their nest box!  Our Bewick's wrens are nesting somewhere in our yard, but they're not using their nest ball this year.  Life goes on.

March 29, 2010

         OK, folks, we did it, and now we have even more questions.  While Ivan was watching tonight, Olive left the box at approximately 7:10PM.  He came in and alerted me and we rushed down to the ladder which I had quietly and earlier placed against the tree to the side of the box.  He held the ladder while I climbed up and, with my pliers, I turned the "latch" that held the side closed.  This is what I saw:

         (I realize the time stamp says 6:16PM, but I haven't changed it to DST yet - sorry.)  This is a summary of the situation:

1) Look at all that stuff in the box!!!  It was at least three inches deep!  In the left of the photo you can see the bottom of the round opening where Olive situates herself each evening - and sometimes in broad daylight.  I can see that she has been busy pruning my trees.  I was under the impression, stated in at least two sources (one being Cornell!), that Western Screech Owls don't bring any nesting material into their nest site.  Is this wrong?

2)  It's the end of March and there are no eggs.  Neither was there any evidence that there ever were any eggs.

         So now we're left with a multitude of questions, such as is she ready to lay eggs?  Did her mating with Oliver fail?  Are we in the southern or northern boundary of their nesting timing?  What is really going on here?  I'm disappointed - and mystified.  I'm also interested to know what this all means.