I'd say new guy's malar stripe is wider with straighter edges and the white part of his chest appears deeper than BST. But the angle and lighting is way different and that can change a lot.

Yup, was thinking the same!

And I will also say I don't think he looks like Dot either. [looking for a good pic of Dot from a similar angle]

BST and new male at BS  (Carol, I used your pic of BST), my fav pic of him!

I'd say new guy's malar stripe is wider with straighter edges and the white part of his chest appears deeper than BST. But the angle and lighting is way different and that can change a lot.

hello Pretty!

Nice FULL crop

And looking well

Isn't it odd for a tiercel to be attacking Beauty? I would have thought she'd be chased and swooped on by either another female or a tandem male/female combination.

Dot in PA

I personally think we're learning there's more to typical peregrine behavior than we realized.

How teensy!

March 18 – 6:38 PM CDT - Making-up for confiscating her cache of geckos this morning, I injected a mouse into the nest box via the entry hole. Mme. Owl did not fly out in panic, this time. Instead, she stayed put on the floor with the owlets and merely raised her ear tufts in annoyance at the disturbance.

4:19 PM CDT - Owlet no. 4 hatched successfully.

I thought I saw a good sized crack in the egg earlier!

   

Watching above 11:49 Ei

Falcon visit

Posture looks like B

   

And color

March 18 – 8:26 AM CDT - Mme. Owl left the nest not long before dawn. Since I was still up and watching when she did that (having been attempting to nail down the details of laying and hatching times for the owlets), I rushed out to bring the nest box down, find-out where the ants were based, remove them, and make sure they didn't return.

Couldn’t find a nest anywhere. Nor was it evident from watching them where they were entering and exiting the box. In the end, I pulled out all the modules (roof, and both sides) to dust their sockets with Sevin-5 pesticide. Ordinarily, I don’t use pesticides, but to keep owlets safe, I’ve done it before, and will do it again. This stuff is what eliminated the first ant invasion the of the nest box a few years ago. No surface to which the owls or owlets is directly exposed was touched with the pesticide, but I hope that whatever pathway the ants were using is now lethal to them.

My friend Sallie, the raptor rehabilitator, recommended Sevin-5 for this purpose, telling me that when she receives birds in danger of dying from being covered in parasites, fire ants, etc. that are too numerous to attack and remove individually, she’ll actually dust the bird with this stuff, on the grounds that the parasites will kill it for certain, so anything that buys the bird a chance to survive, is better for the bird than the alternative.

Having played Mme Owl to the owlets and the unhatched egg (some body had to keep them warm, since I don't happen to have an incubator lying around), I can say that the three hatchlings are active and look perfect, and the egg is alive, peeping, and portions of its surface are cracked in promising ways. There was no hole, but I’m assuming the cracking is a step in that direction. The owlet weights are 20.9, 22.2 and 18.9 grams ±0.2 grams. The egg is 15.1 grams, with the same margin for error.

Photos later, if any of them are worth a darn.

Ant eviction underway

Scratch. Scratch-scratch-scratch... Scratch!

Just wondering if he can get in trouble for interfering with nature. No one else does what he does, in that sense. Guess it depends on the individual? So used to hearing not to interfere, let nature take it's course. I'm more confused now! I think it's great what he's doing, feeding, taking care of the cleaning of the nest. I'd do it too, 10 fold!

I don't think he'll get in trouble. E. Screech owls aren't endangered. The box is on his personal property. Not what we're used to, but it's what he's been doing for years with the guidance of a friend who is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Everyone back home!

He usually takes photos when he has them down...can't wait!

Ant eviction underway