Screech Owls Lay Eggs in Mid-March

Screech owl in a neighbor's box.  My neighbor reports the owl comes out nightly a half hour before sunset.  (Photo by Debbie Hurlbert)

Screech owl box in a tree near Apple Valley Clubhouse, in park across from our home.  Photo taken Jan. 2, 2014 at 5:50 p.m., showing no leaves inside box or any signs of occupancy then.  (Photo by Don Comis)

I took a short walk today across the road to the park near the Apple Valley Clubhouse to check the lake for ducks and check out the screech owl bird house.

When I put my binoculars on the bird house, I saw it was stuffed with dried leaves.  Screech owls lay their eggs in Ohio in mid-March, so this might be an active nest.  I plan to check on this nest frequently, especially a half hour before sunset because a neighbor sees "his" screech owl leave the box provided in his yard that time daily.

The way this day was so cold and windy I could see why the owl might want all that insulation!  The lake was mostly frozen so I saw no signs of ducks.

I did see two crows yelling at a hawk, a flock of 12 robins, and two deer.  I knew to look whenever crows caw because they might be chasing a hawk, but I forgot that when the crows are fixed on a tree, I should look a few limbs below them.  The first time I looked I didn't see a hawk.  Later, on the walk home, I looked from another angle and saw the big bird below the crows.

Feed Crows!

When crows chased a Cooper's hawk today from a perch aimed at my feeder birds, I realized the corn and peanuts I was feeding them in a minor feeder in my backyard had payoffs in my main feeding area in my front yard.


I wasn't surprised the crows chase hawks.  When I took a brief Birds of Prey course, I learned that one good way to spot a hawk (or owl) is to look up when you hear crows call.  If you see the crows flying, look to see if one of the birds looks different than the crows--that bird will also be harassed, even pecked by the crows in flight and that's your hawk or owl.