Screech owlets!
May 22, 2013 We knew that the screech owl in our owl box was raising at least one chick and that it was getting big. Mama owl had moved out but was still roosting nearby, as was papa owl. But any chicks were being shy about showing themselves, so this ...
Sleepy screech owl
May 09, 2013 Over dinner on the deck last night, we watched Mama Screech Owl sitting in the door of her owl box, looking for all the world as if she needed another nap before dark. We think she has chicks in there, as she spends much of her time ...
Screech owl in the April garden
April 26, 2013 Someone’s been watching me as I amble through the garden in the morning and evening. Whooo? I didn’t see him when I was dazzled by the variegated agaves and yuccas in the raised bed along the back of the house. I didn’t see him when I stopped ...
Screech owl returns
March 30, 2013 We’re now half-convinced that the squirrel and the screech owl are cohabitating in the owl box. Either that or they’re still time-sharing the critter condo. We continue to spot the squirrel peeking out of the box on occasion, and then the next day the owl’s there. It’s ...
Screech owlet makes an appearance
May 09, 2012 One of the owlets has been boldly perching at the entry hole of its box to watch us. It won’t be long until he flies the nest, I think. All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited ...
Wary, wild-eyed screech owl chicks
May 03, 2012 Around 3 pm this afternoon, we noticed one of the screech owlets staring out at us from inside the box. He or she is not yet brave enough to perch on the door rim and look out, but this is the second time I’ve seen them gazing ...
May Day flowers, wildlife, & owl nightlife
May 01, 2012 Happy May Day to you! In celebration, a few pictures of earthly delights from the garden, starting with the first lovely datura flower of the season. Mmm, heady scent! Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) in full buttery bloom. This was actually taken a couple of weeks ago, but ...
Whoo’s there? Another screech owl!
April 21, 2012 While sitting on the patio around noon today I spotted a shape in a tree over the back fence that looked like an animal. I squinted and realized it was a second screech owl having a siesta—the male of what I now hope is a nesting pair, ...
Sleepy, grumpy screech owl
April 17, 2012 I looked out my kitchen window at noon today and saw one very sleepy screech owl nodding off in the owl box we’ve hung in one of our live oaks. She was resting her chin on the lip of the entrance hole, which is quite a bold ...
Yay! Screech owl is in our nesting box
April 07, 2012 After pulling out one squirrel’s nest and then seeing the cute but annoying rodent move back in earlier this spring, we’d given up on seeing a screech owl in our nesting box this year. But two days ago I looked out the kitchen window while making my ...
Owl box? Who says?
February 26, 2012 So this is why we don’t have an owl in our screech owl box this year. An interloper! And just look how snug and content she looks, snoozing in the doorway. Sigh. I suppose it’s too late to evict her at this point. By the way, my ...
Great horned owl chicks growing up fast
May 02, 2011 The great horned owl chicks nesting at the Wildflower Center suddenly look like owls rather than fuzzy, gray buzzards, which the owlets resembled only a week and a half ago, before their down had been replaced with brown, adult feathers. Yesterday I popped over to the Wildflower ...
Great horned owlets nesting at Wildflower Center
April 20, 2011 One great horned owlet… …two owlets… …three owlets are nesting in a planting niche on a stone wall at the Wildflower Center. I visited yesterday to take pictures of the raptor family and observed the three active chicks for 45 minutes. Mama owl was absent—taking a well-deserved ...
Wary screech owl and other garden birds
March 24, 2011 How we wonder whether we have a nesting pair of screech owls or a solitary, shy male in our nesting box. Our dining table is situated so that we can watch him perching drowsily in the opening as we sit down to dinner each evening. If we ...
What does a wise screech owl do on a cold day?
February 09, 2011 On a freezing cold day, a wise screech owl tucks itself into a cozy owl box… …fluffs out its feathers to stay warm… …and wonders what the crazy human is doing outside without a coat or shoes. All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized ...
Screech owl in the house!
December 07, 2010 Look who’s here! A little screech owl has moved into our owl box. For the past few days, I’d suspected we had a tenant. The box is visible from the window over the kitchen sink, and looking into the dark opening I’d seen a shadow or color ...
