Nature Done Wright

   Got home last night to find Mrs. Ace about to fly.   

   When she flew, I could see two eggs in the middle of the box.

   From what I read, screech owls cab have as many as 8 eggs, with a typical number of 3 to 5.

   The females typically lay the eggs two or three days apart for the first two or three eggs, then every day there after.

  What’s more, despite what some Web sites say, the females do not necessarily start incubating the eggs until two or three have been laid.

  Once Mrs. Ace starts incubating, it will be up to Ace to provide her with food every evening. Incubation, I am told, takes 26 to 30 days.

  Given the range of information on screech-owl incubations, here’s probably the most accurate quote I’ve come across:

   "Screech-Owls are poorly studied, so information on their pair formation, territoriality, and nesting behavior is limited," according to Cornell University’s excellent Birdhouse Network Web site.

  Please help me as I steer this learning curve!

  By the way, blue jays and other birds starting mobbing the nesting box today, making it abundantly clear they knew that a screech owl was inside.

   What I did not know was that screech owls apparently talk back — just listen the clicking sounds toward the end of the mobbing calls (thank goodness for digital recorders). (Download WS_30139.wma to hear the owl clicks.)

   Update: When I checked the monitor early this morning, Mrs. Ace was already settled into the nesting box.