Nature Done Wright

    Around 6 last night, I was on heightened owl alert, looking out the window for signs of activity.

Ace was in the hole of his snow-covered nesting box, chilling before his nightly flight. But his would-be mate was nowhere to be seen.

  Ace flew around 6:15. I watched until darkness descended, but the other owl never showed. 

   Was she but a passing fancy?

  If there is any timetable for screech owl romance, it begins in two weeks or so. That’s when the female is supposed to arrive on the scene.

Courtship in earnest occurs in early April and — if the two owls hook up and the female chooses the nesting box with the screech cam — then it could be one interesting month of May…