Gray Fox Visits the Backyard

Video of Nocturnal Visit by Gray Fox

Gray Fox captured with Bushnell 8MP Trophy Cam HD Trail Camera

Continuing to evaluate and have fun with the  Bushnell 8MP Trophy Cam HD Trail Camera in the backyard. Captured this rare visit by a Gray Fox the other night. Gray foxes are interesting in that they can climb trees. They are the native fox species for the eastern United States. The Red Fox was imported for hunting. Foxes in our area are very leery of human interaction and are virtually never seen in the daytime.  I have been giving the Bushnell Trophy Cam a trial for all sorts of backyard applications in day and night and will share my results in a series of blogs with examples.

Rare White Screech Owl Rescued in Florida

Rare White Screech Owlet Rescued in Florida

White Screech Owl - not albino

An unusual and interesting news story for Eastern Screech Owl lovers out of southwest Florida where a hiker found a white owlet in Charlotte County last month and brought it to the Peace River Wildlife Center. Our Florida Screech Owlets fledged during the first week of May so this must have been a very small, vulnerable and dependent owlet when found. The thinking is it was abandoned because it was white. If it remained in the wild it would also have very little chance of survival for more than a few days without the Eastern Screech Owls innate and amazing ability to camouflage themselves from predators. It would also draw attention to its siblings and the nesting area. I don't see how this little owlet will ever be able to be returned to the wild. It is not an albino owl but leucistic - probably one in a million chance.

The good folks at  Peace River Wildlife Center are taking care of the white owlet and are holding a contest to name the white owl. You can donate $1 per vote to pick between five names. The name that gets the most donations will be bestowed on the little one!. 

Funny Raccoon Raids Bird Feeder - Fail!

Raccoon Tries to Get Bird Suet Feeder in a Unique Way!

Video of Funny Raccoon

Raccoon raiding suet bird feeder

Caught this funny episode of a raccoon trying to get at a suet feeder the other night. Previous suet feeders had disappeared entirely and I suspected the wily Raccoons so I set up my night-vision game camera to catch the perpetrator(s). What ensues is a rather large raccoon trying to get the feeder off of a tiny springy branch I knew wouldn't support its weight. Not to be deterred the erstwhile bandit tries to stretch with only the very tiptoes of one hind foot to support and stabilizing him. The raccoon fails badly and is left hanging onto the suet basket with all four feet about 8 feet off the ground. As it still tries to get the suet feeder off the branch despite dire circumstances it falls to the ground with a thud. Now I don't know if raccoons land on their feet like cats do, but I somehow doubt it. In which case this raccoon had a hard landing and likely limped off to heal his bruises in the den as it left the suet behind!

The Complete Book of North American Owls - A Review

The Complete Book of North American Owls - Review

I had a pleasant surprise at the bookstore where I went to kill some time and, of course, check out the latest "bird books". A new release(April 16th,2013) - The Complete Book of North American Owls - was displayed prominently as a staff pick. The book is a paperback authored by James Duncan - more information on the author and the book can be found at the publisher's website - Thunder Bay Press.

The book is a paperback approximately 10 by 7 inches, a nice size and format. The first impressions of the book by quickly thumbing through are quite impressive - the photographs of each owl at rest and in action are very high quality and evocative. Twenty North American Owls are highlighted and each species is given several pages with interesting narrative and distinctive traits noted. My attention was of course drawn to the Eastern Screech Owl and that section was very well done. I learned something new - that there are several varieties of tropical Screech Owls outside the United States.  The text is a nice blend of introductory scientific background and approachable narrative that the novice birdwatcher or anyone that just loves owls would find entertaining and informative.  I give a big thumbs up for its coverage of the small owls of North America.  The price is reasonable at $19.95 retail, $17.96 with Amazon Prime. 

The Complete Book of North American Owls

Pileated Woodpeckers Visit the Backyard - Amazing Woodpecker Calls!

Pileated Woodpeckers Visit the Backyard - Amazing Woodpecker Calls!

Video of Close-Up of Male Pileated Woodpecker

Male Pileated Woodpecker

It  always exciting when Pileated Woodpeckers made a rare and raucous  visit to the backyard. so I was delighted to hear loud calls and got my camera and an extended capture of a male. The other two - one of which was a female made continuous calls for about 5 minutes while the male calmly pecked for food. They may have been a family unit but kept to heavy brush as is their nature and I couldn't see them clearly, but you can hear them on the video carrying on for over five minutes. Do not know what the significance of the calling was, but I suspect it was the parents and a newly fledged young pileated. Like Blue Jays they have a tendency not to keep a low profile when they are taking out their kids for the first time.  Very few birds get me as excited as the sudden raucous appearance of the Pileateds! And to get them away from a feeder in a natural setting is hard to do - they rarely stay still very long. 
More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: 
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Transformer Owl Takes Down Curious and Annoying Squirrel!

Squirrel investigates Eastern Screech Owl With Predictable Results!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know - Squirrel checks out Eastern Screech Owl

Transformer Owl 2013 was patiently guarding over her nest box with three owlets when a pesky and curious squirrel decides to check her out. She puffs herself up and extends her wings to look big and scary as the squirrel is already right on top of her. She holds her patience for awhile and then sends the squirrel on his way - scared but unharmed. This is the same mother Transformer Screech Owl that has displayed her prodigious talent in the past by shrinking to look like a tree branch from a Red-Shouldered Hawk on the exact same tree in 2012. This amazing wild creature is the real wild transformer owl! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NPXU5AZSAc

The Genuine Wild Transformer Owl Makes Herself Look Thin - May 2012.

The Genuine Wild Transformer Owl Makes Herself Look Thin in May 2012.

More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: 
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Great Picture of an Eastern Screech Owl Entered into National Geographic Photo Contest

Great Picture of an Eastern Screech Owl Entered into National Geographic Photo Contest Had to Tweet this - classic example of Eastern Screech Owl camouflage.

Portrait of an Eastern Screech Owl - Traveler Photo Contest 2013 - National Geographic on.natgeo.com/17JSDR9 via @natgeotraveler

— Backyard Birder (@Nature_Fix) May 16, 2013

Beautiful Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake Makes a Visit to the Backyard!

Beautiful Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake Makes a Visit to the Backyard!

Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake

This is the second large Red Rat Snake I've encountered in the backyard in the past year. I was able to get excellent close-up video of this snake slowly winding its way to the back fence to escape. I'll post that in the near future. I was alerted to the snake's presence by Blue Jays making a bunch of noise as they sort of "mobbed" the snake as it moved across the open back patio. More as a warning than an attempt to thwart the snake, the Blue Jays act like the backyard alarm system. Many small animals such as squirrels and other birds react to the Blue Jay's alarm shrieks, not out of fear of the Blue Jays, but recognition that the Blue Jays see or sense danger.

The Red Rat Snake is an attractive snake, but can be "scary looking" to people who encounter it in their yard and unfortunately the slow lumbering nature of these constrictor snakes means that many are killed on sight. This is unfortunate as they eat small rodents and lizards primarily and help keep the backyard ecosystem in check. They are perhaps one of the more genuinely attractive snakes in the U.S. and will only coil and stand their ground if given no choice. The sad thing is the majority of them are easily killed by hacking or beating as they make a slow "run" for safety. The video will be along in a week or so. More information is at Wikipedia .

Last Eastern Screech Owlet Makes the Big Jump out of the Nest Box

Last Owlet Realizes She is All Alone!

Eastern Screech Owlet in Nest Box - Last one Out

The youngest owlet was 5 days behind the eldest and 3 days behind the second and was clearly not expecting to jump but was relaxing in the bottom of the nest box waiting for Mom to put food in her mouth. She had not yet been perching for food - losing out to the two eldest. When she realizes her brother has left her expression is priceless. Mother continues to call in a nearby tree and withhold food. The little one has guts - it only took 10 minutes from realizing she was alone to making a jump even though she couldn't fly. She managed to fly to the tree with Mom and climb up high where she is doing fine. A classic end to the 2013 season!

More HD videos every week on our YouTube channel. Please Subscribe at: 
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Last Eastern Screech Owlet Makes it Safely Out of the Nest Box

Video of Owlet Hiding in Deep Cover - A good thing!

Mother Screech Owl Guarding the Owlets in the Trees

After the 2nd eldest left last night the youngest quickly decided to make the plunge even though it had never perched at the entrance before. It fell to the ground but managed to fly into a Palmetto tree and then tried to fly back to the nest box. Mother Owl came to the rescue and calmed it down and it followed her back to the tree. This morning the little owlet was making noise and exposed but It hid and I managed to catch of glimpse of it this morning. We will only hear them now - they have moved into very dense brush.

More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

More info at: http://screech-owls.blogspot.com/

Live Screech Owls Tonight!

Watch "Florida Screech Owl CAM May 9th - Live From outside the Owl Nest Box!" on YouTube

Will the last two leave the nest tonight?

Eastern Screech Owl Chased Off Of Hunting Perch by Mockingbird

Video of Mockingbird Chasing off Mrs. Screech Owl

The female Screech Owl was taking up her usual position to start hunting for the owlets at dusk, but a Mockingbird with a nest in a nearby tree took exception. Mockingbirds are fast and fearless, and while they make some of  the most beautiful calls in the bird world, when they are on the attack they have an extremely aggravating call.

More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: 
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Last Two Eastern Screech Owlets Will be Leaving the Nest Box Tonight - Live Feed

The second oldest owlet is now sitting in the entrance - the eldest left last night!

Tonight will likely be the last live feed as the two remaining owlets will likely leave the nest box. 

Starting early today! This will likely be the last night - the eldest left overnight and two very over-active owlets are in the nest box. The parents want them out of the nest box. They are guarding and feeding the eldest in a nearby tree. This is the time to say goodbye. They are very over active today and will likely leave between 8 and 9 PM. The parents will likely call them from nearby trees or perch and then withhold food to coax them out if they are not ready already! Will broadcast from outside till its too dark.

Live outside the owl box tonight!

Watch "Florida Screech Owl CAM May 7th - Live From outside the Owl Nest Box!" on YouTube

Watch "Florida Screech Owl CAM May 7th - Live From outside the Owl Nest Box!" on YouTube

Owl Watching - Nature Meditation

16 minute HD Video - Owl Watching at its best.

Male Eastern Screech Owl Guarding the Nest Box

The male Screech Owl has a favorite position to guard the nest box with the mother and 3 owlets inside. Now that the owlets are getting bigger the female has been leaving the nest during the day to cool down and rest. The male will do most of the hunting during the night. Here we see just 16 minutes of his day long vigil - these small owls only expose themselves to such danger when they are nesting. The other 10 months of the year you would never see this guy. To keep up on the owl family developments and get more HD videos every week. consider subscribing at: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Squirrel Mother and Child - Mother's Day Celebration

A mother squirrel out for a meal at the bird station with her newly weaned young one.
More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: 
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 5th - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

The Eldest Owlet is Close to Fledging!

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 5th - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

Running the live feed this afternoon and evening. The eldest will likely fledge in a day or two - seems ready to get out of the box - his two siblings are taking their afternoon nap.

Screech Owl Family Update

Male Eastern Screech Owl

Female Eastern Screech Owl

Eastern Screech Owlets in Nest Box

Squirrel Who think its an owl

The 2013 Screech Owl season is progressing perfectly according to plan. The male spends his days hidden and resting and will do most of the hunting for food tonight. The female is now spending the day out of the nest because it is getting too crowded and hot with the three fast growing owlets. She is where she can see the nest box and come to the rescue of the owlets if need be. Two of the owlets are now perching and looking out on their new world. Fledging should begin early next week. Amazing and precious little creatures! There is also a weird young squirrel who has taken perhaps an unhealthy interest in the owl parents after discovering their roosts. It is impossible for the squirrels to get at the nest box otherwise they would ruin the nesting season The squirrel is fascinated by the roosting owls - more on that later.

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 3rd - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 3rd  - Live From the Owl Nest Box!
We will continue live streaming on YT until the owlets fledge mid to late next week. They are growing so fast and tonight will need a lot of feeding!

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 3rd  - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 2nd - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 2nd  - Live From the Owl Nest Box!
After a rainy night last night expect a very active and wild evening tonight - the owlets are active and hungry! If you love little owls you wont be dissapointed.

Florida Screech Owl CAM May 2nd  - Live From the Owl Nest Box!

Eastern Screech Owlet Perches and Looks out of the Nest Box

First appearance of the eldest owlet in the nest box perch!

Eldest Eastern Screech Owlet

Probably due to an abundance of high protein food such as lizards and bugs after a mild winter the owlets have grown incredibly fast in the past few days. Yesterday (April 30th) the eldest owlet made a first appearance at dusk in the nest box entrance. Our first view of those amazing eyes. In the video you will see the mother owl take off from the nest and the two eldest try to look out on the world beyond the box for the first time. The second eldest is not quite big enough to look out but you can see its head next to the eldest. It will be a rainy night tonight we'll see how the owls handle that.