Nature Done Wright

   I think we are approaching the end of the beginning  — or I hope we are. 🙂

   The cast of characters is in place, and the drama should soon unfold.

    First, there’s Mr. Ace. He showed up in the nesting box in late November and stayed there to mid-March (when he turned over the box to Mrs. Ace.

    He has been seen fleetingly ever since — except earlier this, including yesterday, when he hung out in the nearby wood duck box.

    I take this as a good sign. As Frederick R. Gehlbach writes in "The Eastern Screech Owl," the male typically roosts nearer to the female when the eggs are about to hatch.

    Next in the cast of characters (by order of appearance) is the dependable Mrs. Ace, who has been living in the nesting box since mid-March and sitting on eggs since the beginning of April.

   Finally, we have the four little Aces, who are waiting to be hatched.

    Mrs. Ace sits on her eggs most of the day, leaving only after dark for a brief time to take a bathroom break and get some water.

    I am told the first week in May is when the show will begin.

    Sit tight.