Nature Done Wright

    I finally cleaned out the screech owl box the other day.

   To my surprise, the one egg that hadn't hatched was gone.

   I pushed out all the feathers and wood chips — all nice and dry — and closed it up again.

   I will put in new wood chips in early October and hope for another great season.

  I will keep an eye on the inside of the box in the meantime, just to make sure squirrels don't try to move in…

    Damn those squirrels!

   Since I got the video cam to monitor the nest, Mrs. Ace has laid 19 eggs; 18 hatched and successfully left the box. What happened to the unhatched egg this year is anybody's guess.