The Owl Pages Forum

[RaeRaeSmile]

So just this last week i saw a screech owl flying back and forth to my tree, There are now two living in my front yard....They are so beautiful! I get to sit out there all night and watch them go back and forth and they don't mind at all! Its pretty cool because there are 3 trees in my yard....i believe there nest is in the middle tree because thats where they are always flying to at night...during the day they sit across from eachother in the side trees watching over the middle tree....i do not want to bother them or there ways of life but i would really like to do something to make it easer for them and maybe help them out a little without getting in there way or bringing alot of other birds to there new home....does anyone have any ideas of what i can do for them....Please help me..THANKS!!!!!
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[owlboy]

It is always a pretty cool thing to have owls living in your front yard. You are very fortunate.

There is basically nothing you should do to help them directly. They are probably starting to nest in the tree, and will have young owlets soon. After a couple weeks after they hatch, they will "Branch". Branching is where they will jump out of the nest to the ground. They may run around on the ground for a couple days until they learn how to climb up the tree. They will then sit on a branch for about a week before they learn how to fly. While they are branching you should make sure that your dogs and/or cats are not outside. This will ensure that the owlets survive the branching process. The branching process is the most dangerous time of their lives. The mortality rate is high during this period.

After a while, they will become accustom to your presence. They learn quickly who is safe, and who is a predator. They still not tolerate you getting too close or touching them. There is nothing wrong with taking pictures. Every year we get people who post pictures on our site of their nesting owls.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY

[RaeRaeSmile]

Thanks for that info! I was kinda glad that it was you that replied because I liked what you had to say to the guy about the owl that he had gotten out of his chimney...hope that all went ok for the little owl in the end! Anyways, they seam to know already that we will not hurt them, they actually seam to kinda like us as strange as that may seam! I believe they are building a nest because they have been going back and forth....I have been reading a lot about them and know that it takes about 26 days for the eggs to hatch....do you know of a way to tell when she has laid her eggs? My guess is that we stop seeing her because she is sitting on them...not sure though. We do have a dog and two cats...the cats are inside cats and don't know how to climb the trees thankfully, I do let them out side though. I let them out for the first time yesterday since I have seen the owls (kenni and barbie haha) but I would not let them get anywhere close to the trees....its the dog that’s going to be the problem...he is a jack Russell and CAN climb the tree so he has only been able to go in the back yard, I do not what them to be afraid at all!!! I have stopped taking pics at night though because I don't even want to bother them with that I want them to be able to get what they need done without having to worry about us. So we just sit under the tree and watch in amazement! I never knew that they could huver...but they can I saw him do it while he was passing something off for the nest as she sat on the branch. So while they are branching will they come down during the day or only at night....I would really like to be able to at least sit on the porch and try to keep the neighborhood cats away because there are a lot of them, I don't think I could handle loosing any of them! I am so obbsest already haha I just can't help it I LOVE animals and have always been fascinated with owls, I even planned on getting an owl tattoo before they were even there now I will be getting them on my back!! haha way too cool....but anyways I can't stop reading and trying to learn more about them so thank you very very very much to replying to my post!!!I guess since there is nothing I can do to help them out I will just sit back and enjoy, but I sure do wish there was something I could do!....oh yeah also I read that once they find a mate and a home they will stay there for the rest of their lives, is that true?!?!? and please if you can think of anything else that you think i might like PLEASE share!!! Again thank you so much for your time and help i really appriciate it!!!
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[RaeRaeSmile]

Oh yeah...also....do you know if they do something to puff themselfs up....because at first the female (or at least what we think if the female) was noticably larger with different markings then the male then one day they looked the same size and everything and we could only tell who was who by them sitting in there favoret spots in the tree....but then at night they both look like they are puffed up....do they do that at night or when they are scared...or do you even know what i'm talking about haha thanks
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[owlboy]

You should have no problem photographing them. It doesn't seem to bother them. If they swoop past you fast next to your head, then they are upset where you are. Obviously, use good judgment.

The females lay their eggs around mid-March to Mid-May. Being in Texas, I would suspect that she has laid her eggs and is probably sitting on them now. She might take a break, so it is possible that you will see her.

Once they branch, the owlets will run around on the ground until they learn how to climb the tree. Some learn faster then others. If you dog is a problem, you can take a stick and get them to climb up on the stick. Then take them to the side of the tree, and they should climb onto the side of the tree. This can accelerate the process.

We do have a Tattoo section on our web site. You can see them here: http://www.owlpages.com/gallery.php?section=art&cat=Tattoos

Some owls use the same nesting site for the rest of their lives. Others may use them for a couple of years, and them find another one. While a few use a different nesting site each year. Screech owls should use this same nest site year-after-year. If the area is low on prey they might move on. Barred Owls will pass their nesting site down thru the generations until the tree dies. Your Screech Owls should also stay in the area after nesting season ends and the juveniles disperse.

In regards to the female looking bigger. Females are larger then the males by about 20%. This is called reverse sexual dimorphism. The males can fly faster and better then females, which is why they are the hunters. They have to find prey for themselves, their mate, and the brood of owlets. He has to do a lot of hunting.

Some owls fluff themselves up to look bigger to predators, or to keep themselves warm. They can slim down to look "invisible" to predators.

Here is a cool fact about Screech Owls. In northern states, Screeches will dive into ice fishing holes to catch fish. While a lot of owls will go into water to catch prey, this is the only species that will do this in the Winter.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY

[RaeRaeSmile]

I think your right….i went home at lunch to look for them….at first I didn’t see her (haven’t seen her the past 2 days) and then boom…she was right in front of my face in the hole in the side of the tree! So she is probably sitting on her eggs, huh? So here come the count down!! Way too cool….she was only two feet away from me and let me take a pic. So I got some really great ones today! Kenni just sat high up in the tree and watched! Woweee!!! (ill get some uploaded on here soon!!!)

Well the dog is no longer the problem because we are not letting him in the front yard anymore. He is going to be so bummed cuz he has no trees to climb in the back yard haha oh well!!!! Right now the only thing I am worried about is when they do drop to the ground they may walk into the street or get taken by a cat….but I am going to keep a very close eye on them so I will do the stick trick! Thanks for that cuz I was really worried about the cats around our house!

Thanks for sharing the tattoo section with me…there are some really beautiful ones in there!!!! Here im going to go head and get all my thanks out…thanks for all the info and all your time too! You really have helped me out and let me learn some new stuff! All the web sites seam to say the same things and none of them said anything about the branching and that’s like the most important part!! So thanks thanks thanks J

I am really hoping they stay around for a long time, it is a perfect place for them…home wise and food wise….and if they start to run out I will start throwing mice in the neighbors yard hahaha….that is pretty interesting about them diving into the ice holes, I did not know that!!! So thanks again owl boy!!!
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[RaeRaeSmile]

[img]barbie.bmp [/img]barbinhole.bmp [img]kenni.bmp


....well that was me trying to post the pics....i guess i don't know how to ha
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[RaeRaeSmile]

So your like the "keeper/helper" of this wibsite, huh? Does this ever get stresfull for you! I mean i know you hear a lot of good but i see some bad here too....i hope more good then bad!!!!
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[owlboy]

To get the images to work, you have to put in the full address. Here is an example:

[img]http://www.webaddress.com/image.bmp[/img]

Some owls will eat thousands of mice a year. I am sure you will not have a problem with mice getting into your house. Screech owls eat a large variety of prey.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY

[RaeRaeSmile]

I had my timeline SO SO SO wrong!!!!! There are now 3 babys sitting in the trees....two are with the mamma on the middle tree and one is in the other tree with the dad!!!! SO cute!!!! There just letting balls of fluff!!! I thought they would be a lot smaller then they are! They look like they have been taken care of well and eating very well they are so fat!.......I guess i can't do pics because i don't know how to get them onto a website....i have been sending pics from my cell phone to my facebook page...if you wanna check them out you can find me under Raelynn Blaha under my moble uploads (there are two sections to my moble uploads).........or do you know how to set up a website??? They might need a facebook page all to themselfs now that there are 5 them! So since they are out of the hole they should be flying within the week from what you said....how long do they stay around after they learn to fly?
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[owlboy]

They learn how to fly within a week of branching. They will be flying around within a week. At least you got the change to see them while they are young.

You can setup a free account at www.google.com. Then click on More. Then selection Photo. Setup an account. Upload your pictures to the site. Then you can link the photos on Google to this forum.

You can also setup accounts at flickr, photobucket, webshots, etc. All of them can host your pictures.

If you have problems, just let me know.
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY

[RaeRaeSmile]

ok...i posted yesterday but it didn't show anything.... i have a bigger problem then pics now...well first the mamma (or what we think is the female) went missing....now theres a baby missing....so we went from 2 adults and 4 babies to 1 & 3......There is no sign of anything happening in the yard ...like feathers or something.......what is the chance they will stay around now that they have lost 2? If it is the dad...and or mom...will they come back with a new mate or just count the losses and move to the next place? SUPER SAD!!!!!
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Blessed by Owls!!!

[owlboy]

It is possible that one of the owlets is flying, and may be in another tree. One of the parents might stay with it. Try looking around to the other trees. Sometimes they may be high up in the tree and you can't see them. So, hope is not lost yet.

If the missing owlet was the largest owlet, then it is likely that it has already learned to fly. You might want to look back at your pictures to see if this is the case.

Looking at it from the negative side, it is always possible that you lost a parent and owlet. If this does happen, the other parent will find another mate. Sometimes when a female mate goes missing during nesting season, the male owl will quickly find a new mate. If the missing owl returns, one of the two females will raise both clutches as their own. One of the females will eventually leave. This situation is most often seen during the egg phase.

On the reality side, many owlets die before they become adults. It is a harsh reality of nature.

The remaining owls will stay there. But, once they begin to fly, you will see them less often.

How did you make out with getting the pictures posted?
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Always looking for Owls in Greene County NY