Invasion of the squirrels

You will recall that we had photographs of an Eastern Screech Owl in its box. Sadly, a squirrel, undoubtedly a Grey Squirrel, has moved in and displaced the owl.

In the photograph below you can see what has happened. The squirrel has stuffed the box full of leaves; so many leaves that the front of the box has burst open. It's hard to discern from these photographs but the squirrel has actually turned the entire mounting pole and  box about 90 degrees. That's a lot of force.

Meanwhile, back at the stream....

A beaver was sited in Minebank Run recently. It will be fun to see if it takes up residence. And the bluebird boxes are ready to go for another season of nesting. That's always fun.

Soon the Orioles will be here--human and avian.

Go outside and play.

Our owl friend is still there, and he had a visitor.

I had the opportunity to check the camera yesterday, so I took it.

It appears that the owl is still there, unperturbed by the snow that some of us found so disturbing.

It's still sunning itself at regular intervals. I made a time-lapse of one such event. Here it is.

Going through the pictures, I also found this one of another bird poking its beak in the owl's box. 

Boy, I sure wish I knew what they said to each other.....

Spring promises to be lovely this year.
Don't forget to go outside and play.

This owl enjoys the sun on a winter day

The Eastern Screech Owl is still in its box.  It's of note to me that these owls nest in cavities, but they never dig the cavities themselves. They generally nest in cavities in  trees made by woodpeckers, or perhaps holes caused by rotten wood falling out of the tree. Inside the next, these owls do not build a nest, but lay their eggs on the bottom of the nest hole.


This week I managed to capture several pictures of the owl sunning itself.  I noticed that the owl does not come out to enjoy the sun at the same time every day, but at various times. The length of time it suns also varies from day to day.

I also captured a picture of the owl returning to its nest one night, presumably after a hunt. I wonder if it was successful?

Below is a typical sequence of the owl coming out to enjoy the sun. The hole in the box faces south.

And here is the view of the owl returning to its nest. This particular view of a bird is usually called the "vent view" by birders. 

Don't forget to go outside and play.

This one's for the birds

So, there is an owl box, designed primarily for Eastern Screech-Owls at Cromwell Valley Park. It's been in place for several years.

The volunteers who take care of various bird boxes wondered if it is still in use, or if perhaps it should be removed. They asked me to see what might be found with my game camera.

Exciting news. 

There is a Eastern Screech-Owl still living in the box. This one appears to be a red phase--that is about the same color as a fox. About a third of the owls are red phase.

The owl in the videos below is sunning itself. The nest faces south, and it's common for the birds to soak up the sun, especially on cool or cold days.

And there's a bonus video of what I think is a Blue Jay flying onto the owl's box. That makes me wonder what the jay and the owl are thinking. Do they care how close they are to each other?

This could be a fun spring.  This owl is probably thinking of the upcoming breeding season which will be upon us soon. And I'm thinking of capturing what I can with the camera.

Enjoy the videos.

Go outside and play.

Meanwhile, back at the watering hole....

While we've been running around like nuts, and spending money we may or may not have, the animals are doing their thing. One would like to think that they're thankful every day.

Enjoy the videos and pictures.

A raccoon family reunion

Go outside and play.

Vulpes vulpes may be the most widespread mammal on earth

At least some experts believe that to be the case.They can be found at all latitudes and in a variety of climates from forest to desert. They are happy to live in close contact with man.

There certainly are a lot of them at Cromwell Valley Park, and at Hampton National Historic Site, and probably lots of places in between. Almost everywhere I put my camera, another beautiful red fox appears.

Red fox primarily eat meat, usually small mammals, but also some birds, frogs, crickets, vegetables when they have to. This week, I captured a fox with dinner in its mouth. See below.

Mating season is coming soon in December and January. The female, or vixen, will give birth to four to six kits next spring. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to catch them on camera.

Last week, I put the camera overlooking a small creek near the Sherwood Farm. I found quite a bit of activity.

And please note--the date and time on these pictures is wrong. I have to admit I forgot to reset them after changing the batteries. All the pictures below were recorded last week.

Look closely, see two foxes?

Deer are pretty common around here too.

Eyeshine.

Two foxes. Is the one on the right claiming his territory, or saying something else?

Deer breath.

Turkey vulture. Just out of view in the left rear is a dead deer. That may be why the vulture is here.

This and the next two photographs show the fox with a meal. I can't make out just what, but perhaps a groundhog?

What do you think it is?

A raccoon.

Belay that, as the sailors say. Two raccoon.

It's a beautiful world. Go outside and play in it.

One foxy post, updated

So, if you like foxes, keep reading.

The camera has been looking at this tree for some time because some animal has been digging a hole under it. Several times through the summer and fall I filled in the hole. Maybe ten or fifteen days later, I would find the hole dug up again. Yet nothing appeared to be living under the tree.

I decided to move my camera from Cromwell Valley Park to see if I could determine what animal was digging the hole.

I did find out.

As you can see by reviewing the videos below, a fox is hunting something that lives under the tree, probably a vole or mole.

Fox are beautiful animals, aren't they?

Enjoy the videos.

It's a beautiful world. Go outside and play in it.