Physiology and Ecology in the Pinyon-Juniper Savanna
Once the owlets left Terry’s box, they have been pretty scarce. They did show up recently to cool off and clean up in the pond, however. Here’s a quick montage of a few of the videos.
Coming soon: Photos and videos of the most recent trip to Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California.
The western screech owlets have grown up and left the nest. All but one of the eggs hatched, and everyone who hatched has fledged. Using Terry’s video clips, I have assembled a video showing some of the high points. For all of the videos from 2025 and 2026, check out Terry’s Owl Cam page.
The video below is a bit big, so may take some time to load.
Here is the Terry’s updated hatch and fledge data from the past seven years. The hatching times show some variation, but the time from hatching to fledging is remarkably consistent at 29 days.
Here at the lab, we are are lucky to have a close up view of nature. It’s a constant parade, with beetles emerging from their winter homes, ants swarming to start new colonies, winter birds leaving, summer birds arriving, and much more.
Four of five of the eggs in Terry’s nest box have hatched, and the owlets are growing rapidly. Of course, for each meal the owlets enjoy, a mouse, bird, or insect has a very bad day.
We have been tempted to add another bluebird box that has a camera so that we can watch the process of growth and fledging. I have been hesitating, largely because some broods do not survive and I am not sure that I want to watch that happen. My attitude was reinforced this week, when the female bluebird did not go into the nest box, and there was a something strange and pink sticking out of the hole.
When I opened the box, there was a large pink coachwhip snake inside. It had made a meal of the brood, even though the nest is on a pole about four feet off the ground.
Looks like it will be necessary to add some flashing around the pole to make it harder for snakes to reach the box.
There seems to be a large crop of rabbits this year, which has led to plenty of coyote sightings. I see them at least a few times a week on morning surveys, and they show up regularly on the wildlife cams.
Terry was lucky enough to spot one finishing its rabbit meal, and fast enough to get a video. Another coyote, with an injured front leg, tries to share, but the first coyote is having none of it.
It is a harsh life out there, and a coyote that can’t hunt will not be able to eat. Animals can heal, so it may be back on all four feet and able to hunt again.
