Nellies babies

Nellie has 2 babies and a note from Dr. Rob

Again, Nellie decided not to use the luxury high rise we have provided for her but I was able to find her nest.  In the interest of privacy, I cannot reveal where it is but I can say she choose well. I have seen two little owlets peeking out and crying for food. They will stay in the nest for another two weeks before they come outside where mom and dad will teach them how to fly and hunt. I will post some photos shortly.

Below is a link to Rob's screech owl videos and a note from him.

Rob's screech owl videos

Greetings from my new home range in the Philly 'burbs!

I'm sending this out to my old Barred Owl email list. Many of you know that I did my 'trailing spouse' thing again and left Charlotte last summer. We are now settled into a nice, shady, tree-filled property with a stream running through it just north of the Philly city line. Perfect habitat for Barred Owls. Only one problem. There aren't any Barred Owls in the Philly 'burbs. Very strange. The habitat is perfect, but somehow the Barred Owls (and their diurnal counterparts the Red-shouldered Hawks) haven't discovered this big block of great habitat like they did in all the big city suburbs down south. Must be something about the (real) lack of southern hospitality up here (there are signs on the roads warning "Beware of Aggressive Drivers"!).

So, having heard Screech Owls calling in the neighborhood last fall, I downsized and built a box for Screech Owls. I put it up on Feb 10th. Naturally, it has a camera in it. On the 20th I was out in the yard and when I looked up at the box I saw something in the entrance hole. At first I thought it was some sticks and leaves that squirrels had brought in to usurp the box. When I looked a bit closer, I realized I was looking at a Screech Owl looking at me.

So I checked the recordings and discovered that they'd moved in about 9 days after I put the box up. (I still have my owl mojo!) I don't think I'll get this streaming on Cornell's nest cam site this year, but hope to do so next year. In the meantime, I'll be posting selected video clips to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/wOjTY1). In one of the most recent clips (Screech Owl nest prey delivery) you can see the first egg, which was laid night before last. I confess I missed it the first couple of times I saw the video, but now can't see how I did. It's very obvious in the very beginning of the clip). There should be 1-3 more eggs laid over the next week. Incubation should start with the next egg laid.

If you're interested, you can subscribe to my channel and get notifications when I post new videos.

Love Philly but still miss Charlotte and all my friends down there (feathered and not!)