Our Owl Log

March 15th

March 15: Some Thoughts

As our Austin owlcam friend Chris Johnson has no activity yet at his cam, we still have hope that perhaps this year is just late in getting underway. Last year the first occupancy was not until March 17th. And as last year began with an egg and then a week of sporadic occupancy, the first viable egg wasn't laid until March 24th.

This year's drought could be having a negative effect on the insect and hence the reptile population, which could mean Mrs. Owl doesn't yet feel she has enough food to start a brood.

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March 12th

March 10-12: Nothing New

No activity for these 2 days. We've been out on our kayak the last couple of evenings, so we haven't observed evening activities outside the box. But the video logs show no activity inside.

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March 10th

March 9-10: Still Waiting

No activity yesterday or last night.

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March 9th

March 8-9: Activity and Storm

In the evening, we watched the box inside and outside in hopes that Mrs. Owl would return, even if briefly. At one point in the darkness, I saw a light-colored shaped drop from the bushes to the ground. This may have been an owl hunting. But nobody entered the box.

Overnight, there was a big loud thunderstorm. I checked the box to see whether Mrs. Owl would take refuge in the box, but alas, no such luck.

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March 7th

March 6-8: Flash Visit!

After 3 days of absence, an owl returned for a 30-second visit at 7:05pm on March 7th. We presume it is Mrs. Owl, because during the 30 seconds, the owl spent some time rearranging the nesting material to create a nest-shaped bowl in the wood shavings. Then she promptly left for the evening.

We had begun to wonder whether one of the neighborhood cats had gotten her. Owls are often cat victims, which is one of the reasons that many bird organizations recommend that owners keep their cats indoors. It turns out to be healthier for the cats, too. Cars, wild animals, cruel humans, and disease can all harm cats outdoors. Read more at http://www.abcbirds.org/cats

She didn't return to the box after that, and is not in there as of 8am. So she will spend another day outside the box. When will she nest?

[March 6-8: Flash Visit!">link] [No Comments]

March 6th

March 5-6: Nobody Home

Mrs. Owl has not put in an appearance in 2 days. Guess she still has to paint the town red (or is it gray?) a while longer before she settles down. We're crossing our fingers she'll come back.

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March 5th

March 4-5: Absence

Mrs. Owl was pretty inactive during the day. She went up into the entrance briefly at 1:48pm(1 min), 2:03pm (14 min), 2:44 (13 min), and 3:10 (25 min). At 3:40, she left the box, but returned 3 minutes later. She jumped back into the entryway 1 minute after that, and was up there until she left for the night at 6:29pm.

However, she didn't return in the morning, and was absent from the box all day. We took the opportunity to do some maintenance. We installed flashing on the tree (to prevent snakes or racoons climbing the tree), and to added more lighting to the box. We also focused the camera better. We hope for her return sometime this night. Perhaps she is not quite ready to begin egg-laying.

[March 4-5: Absence">link]

March 3rd

March 3-4: Welcome Home

We turned on the camera this morning and found a gray female owl in the box! While we haven't checked it during daylight hours for a while, we think she probably arrived during the night. A couple of days ago, there was no apparent change in the shape of the wood shavings, and we haven't seen her in the evenings in the entrance hole. She was inside all day, sitting up in the entrance at one point in the afternoon.

This evening, she spent 40 minutes in the doorway, and then flew out at 6:44pm. This year, we have a microphone in the box, so we can hear (but not webcast, unfortunately) what is going on. Around 6:50, we heard a faint yelping sound, which was shortly followed by Mr. Owl's entrance into the box. He made the yelping sound from within the box, and was soon joined by Mrs. Owl. He left very soon, and she spent 2 minutes rearranging the wood shavings and scratching on the bottom of the box. She left for the evening at 6:55.

She returned at 6:32 this morning, shuffled on the box floor for 1 minute, and was in the entryway for nearly an hour (58 minutes). She dropped down after spending a couple of minutes observing us taking the dog out for his morning business.

For several reasons, we believe this is the same female as last year:

The feather pattern on her head looks pretty similar to last year (It wouldn't look exactly the same, because she has molted her feathers since last year.)

Unlike each of the two previous years, in which we know the females were nesting for the first time in that box, this owl is relatively undisturbed by our presence. She paid almost no attention to us as we moved about and sat on the back porch last night. In previous years, the female looked at us immediately when we went out, and spend a good amount of time checking us out. But each one became familiar with our presence and paid less attention after a few weeks. As this one is already habituated to us, she is likely one that has nested there before.

Note: for new viewers of this owlog, entries generally cover a day and the following night, as the owls are active through the night. So midnight is an artificial barrier, and would interrupt the telling of each night's story.

[March 3-4: Welcome Home">link]

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