These cute baby woodland rats picked the wrong place to move in to. They don't appear to particular about their sleeping arrangements. There appears to be 4 or five of them on top of each other. They are mostly nocturnal - sleeping in the day and active at night. I waited until they left for the night and then relocated the nest box to a better location away from the deep woods. Although Screech Owl will eat baby rats, full grown rats are too dangerous and more the prey of much larger Great Horned Owls, hawks and other predators. These woodland rats do not get that large and have a very high mortality rate - about 97% die in their first year. Rats in the wild perform a valuable service as part of the balance of nature - but for successful owl breeding the nest box needs to be put in a place they can't get at. A Screech Owl would simply avoid a nest box full of rats.
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