A Couple of Knotheads

Photo by Cynthia Rand [Facebook]

I was determined to find a Screech Owl nest this spring, after finding several last year.

To set the stage, a small group of photographers were doing their best to keep track of some mating Screech Owls that were bouncing between tree cavities this spring.

But after several weeks the owls went silent and seemed to disappear. But couldn't stop thinking about those Owls, they had to be around because they had been mating in the area. So I stopped by whenever I had free time. And very early one morning I heard the beautiful sound of a baby owl!

But the call stopped as quickly as it started. I looked around for an hour but couldn't find the source. I went back that night, and together with a photographer friend we found where the call was coming from! It was a baby Screech stll in a nest cavity! As we began photographing it in the dark a second one popped up beside the first!

We told the small group who been tracking the owls earlier that spring about the nest and together we got to photograph the babies. But not for long, they were ready to fledge! And they did, starting the next day. They left the nest one day apart from each other. We found the nest just in time! This was a case of teamwork at its finest!