Screech Owl uses newly documented scary daytime defensive posture against annoying Blue Jays and Mockingbirds consist of wide eyed blinking and open mouth snapping to look more intimidating. Mother red morph Eastern Screech Owl is trying to take a break outside the nest box in the daytime and let the fast growing owlets have some room and air to cool down. Ordinarily she would never expose herself in the daytime except for nesting season. The Blue Jays are not going to let her rest - they want to harass her until she leaves their nesting area, but she is not going to leave her nest box - thus a standoff. Father Screech Owl sometimes kills songbirds roosting in the trees at night to feed the owlets so you can't blame the Blue Jays. Screech Owls are very small owls and have different techniques to deal with threats including making themselves very skinny like a branch when a real dangerous threat is around like a hawk or big owl or puffing themselves up for some threats they can intimidate like squirrels. These behaviors can be seen in this documentary:
Eastern Screech Owl Camouflage and Defensive Survival Techniques
The Screech Owls have a minor fight over a large lizard! If we could only understand owl calls. On a short break outside the nest box Ms. Owl naturally assumes that Mr. Owl is landing next to her to hand of what looks like a rather tasty and heavy bodied lizard lacking a tail (it's too long and short legged to be a large frog or toad) - But Mr. Owl pulls back and intends to keep it for himself leading Ms. Owl to give him a sharp bite on the head and the cold shoulder. All is quickly forgotten, however, as there is much food for all. It is clear though that this year's male Screech Owl is a very discriminating hunter and eater, focusing on large exotic nocturnal reptiles and amphibians.
Extreme close-ups of the cute wild Eastern Screech Owlets in the nest box. Only one has opened its eyes and is getting much bigger than the other two. Fledging is expected around April 10th. Plenty of food for all. Have a few more bugs to get out of this camera/microphone setup - stay tuned.
Eastern Screech Owls have returned to the nest box for 2015! Female Red Morph Screech Owl has been roosting in the box for 6 days now. No eggs yet, perhaps in a week or two - historically this is pretty early. Last years eggs were abandoned because the Male stopped bringing food for some reason. This is a new mother and she seems quite shy so for now I'm careful not to make eye contact or get too close to the box until they commit to it and eggs are laid. Cameras are ready!
Red Shouldered Hawk calls at sunrise from atop the security light. It's mating season in Florida and if you listen closely you will hear another Hawk responding to the calls. You'll hear a number of other interesting birds calling at sunrise as well. It is rare that they sit still long while I'm filming them. A full time resident of the woods behind the backyard they are frequent backyard visitors and while they often catch snakes they also snatch the occasional squirrel and Mourning Dove from the feeders. The sound of the Red Shouldered Hawk will send the squirrels running for cover. Occasionally Blue Jays perform a pretty good imitation of the Hawk and seem to enjoy scaring the squirrels. The balance of Nature!
Eastern Screech Owl regurgitates a pellet up close. Owls remove undigested material by forming pellets and regurgitating them generally while sitting on their daytime roosts. In this case the pellet is not well formed and since we can see right into the through of Mr. Owl it looks like mostly hard insect parts of Palmetto Bugs and the like. Pellets are generally more well formed when they contain undigested hair and grass mixed in. They do this several times a day. By the expression on the owls face it is not altogether a pleasant process. Another facet of amazing owls!
Eastern Screech Owl Nest Box and Perch Placement.
The eastern Screech Owls continue their courtship around the nest box on January 22nd, this is about a month earlier than the last few years when eggs were lain around March 1st, but it has been a very mild winter and food is plentiful.
The male Screech Owl has claimed the box and now spends his nights guarding the box and hunting for food – in part to convince the female that he is a good provider. Once eggs are lain she will have to incubate them all day and most of the night and once they hatch she will be in the box 24 hours a day except for short forays out after dusk and before dawn and must depend on the male to bring food while she protects the owlets. Last year the nesting failed and three eggs were abandoned after the male stopped bringing food for some reason.
Due to habitat loss there is a serious shortage of natural tree cavities and a lot of competition and danger associated with the available natural cavities. I can not put owl nest boxes on any trees as the squirrels and snakes will take them over. With regard to owl nest box placement, I have found that the Eastern Screech Owls are not too picky as long as they feel the box is safe from other creatures and they don't have to travel too far in the open to reach it. I put the nest box under the gable end of an aluminum sided outbuilding and the entrance is about 9 feet off the ground – this should make the box safe from anything but another bird such as a Kestrel. Snakes and squirrels need not apply! You have to make sure there are no close branches that the squirrels and such can reach the building from. The owls can drop down to the camera's left to a nearby six foot wood fence behind the building and head out into the brush or go first to the Perch.
Placing a perch in front of the nest box makes a big difference in attracting the Screech Owls to nest boxes in the backyard. This perch is about 12 feet in front of the nest box and six feet off the ground. It is used as a staging area by the owls and a hunting perch. It makes the nest box much more secure and attractive to them. It is also important not to use pesticides in the backyard as that is their hunting ground and lizards, small snakes, frogs and large bugs are a big part of their diet. Links to more information is in the info section of this video.
Classic low-frequency haunting trilling calls from mother Screech Owl Live From the Nest Box - March 24th. Her whole body will shake as she make this rhythmic call about every 45 to 60 seconds. Sitting on three eggs all day - Mother owl will be ready to leave the nest box briefly around dusk and meet the male who will be waiting for her with food. Before she leaves you will hear them call each other and make contact. She will go back and forth to the nest a few time during the evening and the male will likely bring her food several times. Some nights they can be a bit chatty, but mostly for now her focus is on incubating the egss. Hatching of the three eggs is expected to begin around March 29th.
The Eastern Screech Owls have returned for 2014! Courtship and mating now - hopefully eggs within 2 weeks! The male can be seen in the outside nighttime video checking out one of the nest boxes - the one they have used for the past three years, but Ms Screech Owl seems to prefer the other somewhat larger nest box and has spent a few days in there sprucing it up. As you can see she was not too happy to have her picture taken for the video thumbnail! She is the same mother from the past three years which is pretty remarkable. If all goes well eggs will be lain in one of the boxes in the next week or two. It is possible that once these owls stake out a box for sure and stop defending one of the boxes that the other box will be occupied by another Screech Owl couple a little lower on the "pecking order" -perhaps their young from previous years. Should be another exciting season - stay tuned!
Wearing gloves to protect herself from the injured screech owl's claws and beak, Suzanne Shoemaker gets ready to feed Angora. (Katherine Frey/Washington Post). Interesting Washington Post story on a recent influx of five injured Eastern Screech Owls at the Owl Moon Raptor Center since December. All five likely tangled with cars and that is the case for most owl injuries that come to the attention of humans. Rehab centers do great work, much of it by volunteers, but it costs money to run these operations and care for these precious creatures. Consider learning the location of your closest rehab center and donating time, money or needed equipment to help. Screech Owls live 3 or 4 years if they are lucky. One of the reasons I think we have seen the same Screech Owl breeding pair in our backyard for three years in a row is they do not have to cross any public highways, but have a 10 acre landlocked conservation area as their primary territory. Of course they cruise through the yards of the subdivision at night looking for bugs and lizards. We should soon start hearing the trilling and calling of our owls as they hopefully get ready to move into the nest box again.
Eastern Screech Owl Camouflage and Defensive Techniques - A Mini-Documentary. YouTube videos of a White-faced Scops-Owl "performing" by being frightened (i.e. abused) into changing it's appearance on a Japanese TV show for laughs led to names such as Transformer Owl, Evil Owl, Dracula Owl etc. In fact, many small owls use "Concealing Postures" or the German word "Tarnstellung" to survive in a very hostile world. Perhaps the very best small owl that does this and so much more is the relatively little observed or studied Eastern Screech Owl. Hours of footage over two years of one female Red-Morph Eastern Screech Owl guarding her nest box in Florida were combined into this short mini-documentary so that these amazing creatures can be appreciated for their tenacious survival instincts and dedication to raising their young in a natural environment.
The Real, Wild "Transformer Owl "! They have been called Transformer Owl, Shapeshifter Owl, Evil Owl, Dracula Owl etc. In fact, many small owls use "Concealing Postures" or the German word "Tarnstellung" to survive in a very hostile world. Far from evil or scary, they are amazing small creatures that have unusual adaptive ability to change their appearance. Perhaps the very best small owl that does this and so much more is the little observed or studied Eastern Screech Owl. Hours of footage over two years of one female Red-Morph Eastern Screech Owl guarding her nest box in Florida were combined into this short mini-documentary so that these amazing creatures can be appreciated for their tenacious survival instincts and dedication to raising their young in a natural environment.
More info at: http://screech-owls.blogspot.com/2012/09/transformer-screech-owls-taking.html and
Here is an interesting story out of Southfield, Michigan from Amy Akers of WLNS TV 6 Lansing - Jackson.
A baby Eastern Screech Owl that was born blind and unable to care for itself was living at the Howell Nature Center in Michigan and underwent cataract surgery by a veterinary ophthalmologist in the hopes of returning the creature to normal. It is probably unlikely that this owl could ever be returned to the wild, but hopefully I'll hear of an update on its progress and pass it on. What is fascinating about this story is how far veterinary medicine/science has evolved and the dedication of people and organizations to help injured animals. Check out the Howell Nature Center website!
Surgery completed - the little Screech Owl is coming out of Anesthesia.
Screech Owl before surgery
Doctor Gwen Sila performing eye survery on Screech Owl.
Video: Mother Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl Guarding the Nest Box in Florida
Mother Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl Guarding the Nest Box in Florida
Watch this dedicated Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl mother display a range of facial expressions as she guards her nest box and hops to a new perch. The three owlets are getting big and it is too hot and crowded for her to spend the day in the box so she perches nearby - always ready to come to their aide.
Transformer Screech Owl 2013 is patiently guarding 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 right on top of her. Mrs. Owl holds her patience for quite awhile and then sends the squirrel on his way with a somewhat disgusted look. 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 spot in 2012. The only real wild transformer owl on the web!
Western Screech Owlets saved from fire. (Photo: US Forest Service)
The U.S. Forest Service reports on two Western Screech Owlets rescued from a nest in a dead tree in the Sierra National Forest fire. It's a great story of quick action by dedicated people to get the owls to a rehab center. They are doing fine and will be released back to the wild in an un-burned area near their original home.
Female Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl About to use her razor sharp talons as an Amazing
Scratching Tool!
Your not likely to have seen anything like this before. This female Red Morph Screech Owl has an itchy Beak / Nose area - it's driving her nuts - we all know how that feels - but she is equipped with some serious scratching tools - the razor sharp and long talons look dangerous, but they must feel really good to her to scratch that itch! More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding
Video: Amazing Owl Eyes You Won't Be Able to Resist!
The evocative eyes of this lovely female Red Morph Eastern Screech Owlet will captivate you - You will feel as if she is looking right at you - resistance is futile! More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding
From May 2nd, 2013 - Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl mother has been outside the nest box on a nearby branch stub all day watching over the nest box - It's now dusk - the video makes it look brighter out - and she is heading back to the nest box to begin a night of caring and feeding for the owlets.
