New neighbors!

[flamin lib]

A few years back I built several nesting boxes for squirrels in the trees of my back yard. Before long Honey Bunny moved in and we formed a friendly relationship with her eating from my hand.

It didn’t take long for her to raise a family.

In fact the next few years resulted in a number of families cycling through the nest box. Every year squirrels would come and go from the box and many baby squirrels came into the world.
This year there were no squirrels. No activity in the box at all. Several times I thought about putting up the ladder and investigating the box to see if there might be a reason for the sudden vacancy, perhaps a deceased squirrel. Being a bit acrophobic I never got around to it though.
Then, this last weekend, I found the reason for the squirrel free nest box.

There is a new resident! A pair of Eastern Screech Owls have moved in!

As best we can tell, Ms Wiseowl is incubating and the Mister is catering dinner every night.
Although the box itself is decidedly squirrel un-friendly there’s no friction between the communities as the squirrels outweigh the owls two to one (7 oz owls and 12 oz squirrels).

[NV Whino]

1. What a great story!

And photos as well. Keep us up to date.

[Solly Mack]

2. Cool!

Great story!

Love the photos.

[Arugula Latte]

3. Whoa -- love that.

I'm a squirrel fan but I'd be thrilled if I had a backyard owl. Someone needs to do an LolOwl caption on the one where she's giving you the stinkeye.

[CC]

4. Great pictures!!!

The owl is my favorite but love that second one of the squirrels because it is just so "squirrel" if that makes sense. Now if I could only build a box and have owls come live here and skip the squirrels. Not that I don't like squirrels but would be a death sentences for any not very intelligent and very fast because of the dogs.

[Celebration]

5. very cool

You can't lose either way, but I think I would pick the owl over the squirrels.

Nice photos too. I love photos that tell a story.

[handmade34]

6. how did

you get those squirrels to pose for you like that?? what a shot

[aquamarina]

7. The photo of the squirrel couple is adorable.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Oh, how cute.

You're lucky to get that owl.

[Hubert Flottz]

9. I have three very old beech trees here that several squirrel families enjoy.

And my neighbor next door has four more beech/den trees on his place. Sometimes I'll have over a dozen squirrels getting some extra food at my bird feeders. I have two red tail hawks who also visit my yard and I know the hawks are nearby, when I don't see a single squirrel outside. I have two cross-breed squirrels with grey squirrel bodies and red squirrel tails.

[williesgirl]

10. be careful around that tree. when I first moved to

the mountains, my daughter's fiance went for a walk after an argument. He only walked about 1/2 mile from the house and turned around to come back. he had no clue what or who attacked him but came back bleeding from about 10 different areas of his head and body. The ER doc said it was from an owl. Said males will do that if mate is pregnant or when babies are born and still in the nest.

[Hubert Flottz]

16. I've seen several owls around here and hear them at night.

The front page of our morning news paper has a picture and story about Mr."Bigfoot" It's hard to tell what could claw you up around here. My wife and I were up the river out back here one day and sighted a great horned owl across the river. We were able to slip right up under the tree he was in with the boat and get some fairly close up photos of him before he flew away. It was fall and the air was cool and the leaves were peak fall colors. The owl had his feathers ruffled up sunning himself in that tree in the afternoon sunshine. We aren't far from the city, but we have lots of critters. We even have a mink living in the river outback.

Bigfoot sightings...

http://www.wvgazette.com/Outdoors/201204050189

I guess if you REALLY need "something to believe in," Bigfoot is about as good as anything. I just think a lot of people spot stray republicans lost out in the wild and think that there really is a large, shaggy, shifty eyed, greasy palmed dip-shit of some kind "Out There" who ain't friendly or totally human.

[usrname]

11. So the owls are

squatters or just sublettors? If the latter, are you getting some of the rent?

[JDPriestly]

12. I have some squirrels I would like to send you.

They've been eating my avocados for several years now, and they really, really need a new home.

They are quite friendly and have extraordinarily healthy appetites, so I am sure they would survive the move.

[kas125]

13. That is so cool! I used to have a couple squirrels who came to eat from my hand. One even came and

looked in the back door when she was hungry and I wasn't out there. A few times she disappeared for months and I thought that she'd died since I'd already been feeding her for six years and according to the web, that's how long squirrels live. But for two more years, she showed up and asked for food when I least expected it.

And one of her babies came to play with us one day. My dad and I were out in the yard and the baby appeared and stood between us. He stayed and played with us for almost an hour -



Then I got a new puppy and when he was about a year old, he caught a squirrel and played with it til it died. I could no longer feed them or attract them to my yard and I really, really miss them.

[freshwest]

14. Always makes me happy to see your pictures.

[Skittles]

15. wow

these pics are friggin' AWESOME!!

[JCMach1]

17. Owl!

love that one