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).