No Sleep After the Midnight Shift

By May 4th it was getting too crowded and hot in the nest box during the day and the Mother Red Morph Screech Owl began spending her days in a nearby Palmetto Tree relatively open to the outside world. This puts her at risk and this type of behavior is only seen with the small owls when they are guarding the nest box to protect the owlets which could be easily taken by other birds of prey. The day before a pair of American Kestrels attempted to claim the nest box while Mrs Owl was inside with the owlets - they made only a token effort before being chased off. If the mother wasn't there the outcome would have been different. So on this day she was close to the box and in the open. She had been up all night feeding the owlets with the old man and would typically get some sleep in the tree. Although this morning - it wasn't going to happen!  Nearby birds and their babies are making too much noise and if she would be discovered by Blue Jays or Mockingbirds they might attack her as she has no advantage in the daytime so she needs to remain vigilant even though she is exhausted.

Mother Screech Owl trying to get some rest while guarding the nest box.