Photos by Julie (and Steve) Robb
Was able to find the whole screech owl family- mom & dad & 3 owlets all have now fledged! What a joy to watch & learn photos by: Steve Robb on 5/16/24- at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
3 Kids
Dad
Mom
Do they carve those holes out of the tree with their beaks?
They do not. This is why it is so important to preserve forests and why planting new trees is not the same as saving old ones.
Owls like these Screech Owls use natural cavities, or woodpecker nests, which this seems to be.
Trees need to be old enough to have been decently weathered, or have died and become hollowed out. They also need to have grown large enough to support creatures as big as a family of owls.
New trees are not old enough to be the right size, and are typically a monoculture of future profitable to harvest trees, not a diverse group of native trees and plants to support an ecosystem that will provide food for forest creatures.
These young groups of new trees are very sparse on life. It takes new growth forest about 100-200 years to provide a balanced environment for life.
Larger owls will either nest in former raptor or squirrel nests, or some like the Snowy and Short Eared Owls just find a natural divot in the ground to settle in.
Burrowing Owls borrow former homes too. They live underground in old badger burrows!
Thanks for the great information!
My pleasure! It’s important stuff to know if you’re into animals!
That is one good looking family of owls, right there! And with classier digs than my cookie cutter suburban ranch lol
Keep your eye out for woodpeckers and one day you can have a deluxe tree mansion of your own!
