Tonight was lots of fun.
The male was in the cavity by the bridge. He was in his usual spot, jumped around to the “back door”, and flew out towards to the same tree he had used the night before. He then flew around the nest area scoping out the squirrels and raccoons.
He then did something I had thought I had seen him do before, but this time I got to see for sure. He knocked a squirrel off the side of a tree, making him fall twenty feet. The squirrel managed to grap a limb of a bush in order to break its fall. It was amazing to watch. Gray Squirrels are three times heaver than an Eastern Screech-Owl.
While watching the male after this, Jean saw an owl fly into the cavity. It wasn’t the male, since I could see him the whole time. So, the female had taken a short break and returned to the cavity.
Lots of action. It’s going to be tough to watch the two of them being so independent. You can only be in one place at a time!
We keep hoping for a glimpse of a nestling but haven’t seen one yet. We really have no idea where they are in the nesting cycle.