The Private Lives of Western Screech Owls

The View. The owls have set up housekeeping in Terry’s Owl Box again this year. This is the sixth year he has been recording their nesting and rearing behavior. He has been kind enough to make this year’s videos and his comments available to us here at the lab. Updates will be posted at the top of the page as they come in.

The Data. Every year, Terry has recorded his observations regarding egglaying, hatching, and fledging. The data, including the first eggs of this year, can be found here.

5/2/25: Growing Fast

The little owlets are maturing quickly, going from fuzzy blobs to chicks with pinfeathers. The food conveyer belt continues to fill the nest and the owlets with mice.

This first video starts with a good view of the kids, and youngster downing part of a mouse. Mom comes back, followed by dad with yet another mouse.

The next clip starts with the owlets snoozing adorably in a heap. The mouse sitting next to them was not enough, apparently, so a parent brings them another.

Sitting next to mom, eating a piece of mouse.

The moth that one of the parents brought was not very popular. The delivery scene gave a good view of the hubbub when both parents are in the box.

4/29/25: Feeding and Growing

More mice than owlets!

Part of a long feeding session where we can see the owlets being fed

The feeding session interrupted by the delivery of yet another kangaroo mouse. 

4/25/25: Everybody Has Hatched!

[Dave’s note: We’re on the road, so this post was delayed a few days]

All 5 eggs have hatched and the male keeps bringing kangaroo mice to her, though she seems to be tired of the same thing every time. Here is a repeat of a previous clip, where she refuses to take his latest delivery, seeming to say “thanks but how about something different next time.” He acts like “This is what I got and I’m not leaving with it.” 

The second clip is 1 1/2 minutes of cute helpless owlets and long leftover tails. 

4/24/25: Three Owlets Become Four

We have four owlets now, one egg yet to hatch. Having three hatch in one day was a first and then a fourth the next day seems to indicate the female is good at adjusting the incubation times so they hatch close together.

The male is doing a good job keeping her supplied with food. Several times he comes with a mouse and she doesn’t want to take it from him because she already has two, so he leaves with it. This clip shows him coming in to deliver a kangaroo mouse but she doesn’t take it from him and he leaves it anyway.

The second clip shows her leaving the four owlets for her late morning break, showing three left-over kangaroo mouse tails and two partial mice. 

4/23/25: Three Owlets!

Three owlets hatched in one day! Here’s the first view when mom left for a short break after first dark.

The next clip is the three new youngsters exercising their stubby wings.

4/22/25: We Must Be Getting Close!

No owlet hatching yet, hopefully tonight to still meet my prediction.

In the meantime, here are two clips of mice deliveries: a kangaroo mouse and a field mouse from a few days earlier. 

The female has been spending all her time on the eggs and the last morning she has been fussing with them almost continuously and skipped her usual pre-dawn break. Maybe sensing the movement of the chicks inside?

4/10/25: More Rodents, Please!

More owl feedings. We are in the waiting period before the eggs hatch. The female sits on the eggs continuously except for short breaks. The male brings her mice and occasionally insects. Here are a couple clips of food deliveries. 

In the first one, you can get an idea of how long their legs are as she stands up to peer out the hole before he arrives with a kangaroo mouse

 In another clip, she is away when he pops in with a Jerusalem cricket (“potato bug”).

And a clip where she swallows most of a mouse that was leftovers. 

4/6/25: Fueling Incubation

Hungry owl finally gets fed just before daybreak.

She had been sitting on the eggs continuously since her ~7 pm break and was calling for her partner to bring her something.

He finally shows up with her favorite, a kangaroo mouse (note the long tail), just before daylight. This clip shows her receiving the mouse and starting to leave with it, then deciding to eat in.

The second clip shows her, after about 3 minutes of eating, taking it out and is away for about 20 minutes. 

4/2/25: Have Your Mouse and Eat it Too

Here is another clip of the female receiving a mouse delivery and her long effort to swallow it whole.

It took 5 1/2 minutes for her to completely swallow it, so I broke it into two separate clips that are much shorter overall. 

She is sitting on the eggs continuously (she didn’t even leave to eat that mouse) and took a short 4-minute break just before daybreak. 

Still 5 eggs, so it seems we won’t get a 6th egg this year (we had only 5 in 2022).

The first eggs take about 35 days to hatch, so we should expect the first owlet on April 22. 

4/1/25: Five Eggs

The pair now has five eggs. After spending many hours a day off the nest last week, the female sits on the eggs continuously with just a short break before daytime and after dark. Here’s a rare time when she left to eat a mouse after the male brought it in to her.

3/24/25: Getting Started

3/18/25: The next season of The Owls is under way with the first egg laid very late March 18. Here’s a long video of the owls visiting the egg and sitting on it.

3/4/25: The second video shows the tenants damaging the property two weeks ago by pulling the mirror off. I’m shocked at the disrespect.

Just a few nights ago, I went out at night after she left and removed the mirror and added some more mulch for the nest, just in time for the first egg.

3/21/25: “The eggs are fine, get outta here!”
The male seems concerned that the female is not spending more time sitting on the two eggs. After entering the box and looking at the eggs, here he is at the hole hooting for her to return. She arrives, he drops into the box, and she then drives him out and immediately head-butts him out the hole. She checks the eggs briefly, then leaves.

She IS spending a surprising length of time away from the eggs. Two nights ago, she was away for one period of about 5 hours; the next night, away for 3 hours 10 minutes, on the eggs for less than an hour, then away for almost 6 hours. As in the past, I expect she will spend more time as more eggs are laid.