The smallest Eastern Screech owlet is interested in what’s up.
These feathery bobble-heads are growing at a remarkable pace. At sundown, their parents visit, usually with moths, geckos, or worms (at least I think they’re worms…) as delectable nibbles for these cuties. While I don’t watch the camera overnight, I’m sure that feeding goes on throughout the dark hours. Often in the mornings, there is one, or more, deceased prey in the box, ready for a daytime meal when the chicks are peckish.
I haven’t taken daily photos to chart their growth, but they’re big and active now and it won’t be too long before they fledge. I’m fascinated with their daily activities, even when the three are lumped-up in a pile of fluffiness, breathing rhythmically.
Mom and Dad stay close by, coming into the box only to feed. Mom is always stationed just outside the entry hole.
Last year, the owls’ nest box was raided in late February, most likely by a Grey Fox or a Raccoon. This year, to prevent a predator from climbing up the tree and snatching the eggs or chicks, we wrapped the tree with linoleum flooring that comes from a roll, cut to size specification, at your neighborhood big box store. We nailed the width of the flooring to the trunk when mom owl had settled in the box to raise a family.
The tree isn’t near our roof or another large tree, so there’s no concern about a predator climbing up an adjoining structure, then lumbering over to this tree to gain access to the nest box. This makeshift collar has a thick linoleum coating which would be difficult-to-impossible for claws of a smaller mammal to penetrate for vertical traction, thus preventing successful climbing. Grey Foxes can jump up to 6 feet in height, so we placed the bottom edge of the collar at about 3.5 feet, the top edge reaches just over 7 feet high.
The collar looks a little goofy, and no doubt the tree is embarrassed by its attached swath of fake wood, but the fix is temporary and has provided some safety from predators for this owl family. It’s nearly 7 weeks since the the egg holding the oldest owlet (most likely the one on the left in the photo) was laid. Soon, these owlets will see their big, new world for the first time.
My Gardener Says... 
What a clever idea to wrap the tree.
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Moment of genius. 🙂
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Wow that is an ingenious fix that is hard to notice.
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I thought about getting one of the wilder designs, but stuck with something more conventional.
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Exciting times! Good fix to solve the predator risk, and glad the tree doesn’t have to wear its girdle for long. 😉
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It appears to have worked, so far, to keep these chicks safe from predators. Of course once they’re out in the world, they’ll be in danger, but so it goes.
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Well done Tina looks like you saved this brood.
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Thanks, Brian. I think mom and dad have done the birds’ share of taking care of the brood, but we are happy to be of assistance to these lovelies!
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The adjective peckish has two meanings. You’ve clearly got the ‘hungry’ sense covered; whether you also intended the ‘irritable’ sense isn’t clear.
You’re funny about the tree feeling embarrassed by its temporary “collar.”
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Lol. I think the owls probably fit in to that second category, at least some of the time! As for the tree, what self-respecting tree wouldn’t be just a little bit embarrassed?
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I never would have thought of linoleum as a defensive barrier, but it makes sense. To be honest, I didn’t realize linoleum still is around. It certainly seems to be working for you. That direct gaze from the little owlet is precious.
I laughed last weekend while listening to a group of coastal fishermen talking about seeing a great horned owl in flight. One thing led to another, and it turned out that several of them watch Athena’s cam at the Wildflower Center. The creatures are fascinating to everyone, it seems — even old guys who spend most of them time chasing trout and redfish.
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We were at Lowe’s considering using a sheet of metal, which was about $100 and probably tricky, though not impossible, to attach to the trunk. My husband was looking at something else (for some other project) and I was standing there in the aisle and wondered if rolled flooring was still sold. Turns out the selection was located at the back of the store, with quite a variety of designs. There were probably about 10 different choices. We’d figured out how much we would need (assuming initially that it would be sheet metal), but the linoleum was less expensive ($35) and very easy to attach to the tree. Our roll spent the year rolled up on a shelf in the garage. Once Uptown Girl was clearly in the family way, the roll was a breeze to nail to the trunk.
I think these cameras are so great. We only have certain views of wildlife, and to see the females rest on the eggs for weeks, the chicks hatch and grow, and how well the parents care for them, is such a window to their *before camera* secretive lives. I love it that the fishermen are watching Athena and her brood–who, btw, are huge!!
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So wonderful that you are thoughtfully protecting your owls like this … and what an amazing picture!
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Thank you, Cathy. I wish the little owls would all look up at the same time, but alas, it’s usually one one at a time!
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Still sweet …!
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They are growing up so fast!
I love that you decided to wrap the tree to protect the nest. And I think the tree wears its shield quite proudly, happy to protect those precious dwellers.
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Their growth is just phenomenal! I’ve always known chicks grow fast, but to see it, each day, has been a revelation!
I think it’s been a good, fairly easy fix to the climbing predators. Of course, once the owlets fledge, the real danger begins, but so it goes in the big world.
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