hawthorne, N.J. Screech Owls
Check out new pages just updated ,2010 Photos & 2010 updates.
This site contains the videos I worked on to document the nesting of an Eastern Screech Owl pair behind our house... in Hawthorne, N.J.
During, late winter last year 2009.
Now, in 2010 the pair of owls are back together.
And, nesting again.
Once I realized we had Screeches behind our house, I did my research on them... and built two owl boxes to spec. 16” H/ 9” W/ 8”x8” floor/ and a 3” entrance. The key was to keep squirrels out; Therefore, I installed squirrel guard around post.
One box was for the male...and 100” away was the females box for nesting. also, in each box I installed infrared cameras with audio. The cameras were non-remote, so I had to bury the wire underground and run them to my back door inside, then connect to the TV. this gave me the ability to sit on the couch with my kids and Cathy and watch the owls live. this was an awesome experience... since Screech owls are highly nocturnal and difficult to observe, normally. Suffice to say, we hit the “jackpot.” The plan came together...Thank! God. Otherwise, my neighbors would have thought I was even crazier. “I built it and they came”... and for the first time, neighbors who have been living here for 30 plus years, saw Screech Owls in their backyard.
It was a fantastic experience for us all. to this day we can still observe the parents flying around in the back at night with the noisy babies following them, learning how to hunt. Since, they have habituated to me and my camera, I get to hang with them without disturbing their natural behavior... I feel like Jane Fosse with the chimps. I expect they will learn to hunt with their parents until Fall, then they will be on their own.
Big credit goes to my long time pal and neighbor Fred Soder. Fred who shares the same passion for wildlife as myself, believed in my project, and even encouraged it. Fred helped me install one of the boxes and shared with me the excitement when the owls moved in. I also ran a wire to Fred's TV, so he and Charlotte could watch in their leisure.
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