2011 - Eastern Screech Owl Nestbox in Austin!

[dale]

There has been visual confirmation of owls!
(The actual cam site isn't up yet - Chris posted just one picture of an owl in there)

[Annette]

That is great! 

[dale]

Chris has officially kicked off the 2011 season...Mme. O has been spending the day in the box, so eggs are on the way. The view is a bit obscured by debris the starlings have hauled in - that happened last year as well; eventually the stuff got moved back from the cam.

http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/owl/

in related news, my sister and her family have been having a hard time sleeping because of two swooping hoooooligans in their back yard WHO have been very interested in WHO. Who cooks for them, who, who, who. Here's WHO, observed this morning in an abandoned redtail nest.

[Donna]

Nice dale, they can keep me awake all night, I would LOVE it. Any eggs yet? Oh you'll know soon! Fantastic for your sister!! Hoo gets all the good stuff in their yard and Hoo don't? ME!!! S hoo T.

[dale]

the formal "welcome to my owlbox" ceremony

[Paul Hamilton]

Looking at the second to the last photo, am I the omly one who imagines a thermometer flanked by two starlings to be a promising coat of arms?

Paul

[dale]

Looking at the second to the last photo, am I the only one who imagines a thermometer flanked by two starlings to be a promising coat of arms? Paul

'pends on for whom. I'm considering a computer mouse framed in dodos.
sounds like the birth of a great genre: item of technology flanked by something that flies.

btw Chris writes that it was he who cleared the big stuff (of starling provenance) away from the cam.
Thank you, Chris.

[Dumpsterkitty]

btw Chris writes that it was he who cleared the big stuff (of starling provenance) away from the cam.
Thank you, Chris.

Looks like he didn't get it all!   

[Dumpsterkitty]

 

[dale]

well, shoot, Eagle-eye Ei, you've already gotten the sine-qua-non captures for the season, we might as well close up shop right now!  Hilarious!

[Dumpsterkitty]

Not until we see 3 owlets copying Mom...then we will have truly captured the quintessential Screech-ness.

[dale]

my favorites are always the owlets checking out the cam lens - when they turn into one huge eye? - and when they go through their Count Dracula phase - and of course rodent tails and snake bits are very attractive.

[BIGFRANK]

I cant offer the fun of the nestbox but Ive got several videos of Screech Owls including one with young. We have 2 sets that nested in a little park 10min from my home. Here is the first fall sighting of one of the Screech Owls. Found him by following the sounds of alarm calling chickadees. http://www.youtube.com/user/CPFFrank?feature=mhum#p/u/1/42lPA-MgVlQ click see all to find more Screech Owl etc videos Enjoy BIGFRANK

[dale]

I cant offer the fun of the nestbox but Ive got several videos of Screech Owls including one with young. We have 2 sets that nested in a little park 10min from my home. Here is the first fall sighting of one of the Screech Owls. Found him by following the sounds of alarm calling chickadees. http://www.youtube.com/user/CPFFrank?feature=mhum#p/u/1/42lPA-MgVlQ click see all to find more Screech Owl etc videos Enjoy BIGFRANK

Big Frank, that simple, patient video is just ... freaking...incredible. You do an absolutely perfect job of guiding us (including me - and I have some sort of acute congenital owl-blindness) from seeing just a plain old tree...into POP - there's an OWL!!! Thank you so very much for doing that so well!  Beautiful work, good teacher you are. I recognized that feeling from when I was in Peru. I was up at Macchu Picchu and for the first time realized that you can walk up to a plain old bush and stand there, and if you just stand, quietly, suddenly POP you see that there are birds crawling all over the place (and in Peru, it's birds you don't know!). Birds materialize, that's what, and this video demonstrates how that feels.  Also -  the "Screech Owl Nest 2010" video has such terrific shots of the little ones looking out of the tree and all squashed together on branches! Great job! Thanks again!  Dale

[dale]

Check it out!