We have a Red Phase Screech Owl living in our Wood Duck box right in my backyard, only 40 ft from our birdfeeders.
The owl has been here since January 2 and comes and goes like clockwork. It sticks it's head out of the hole of the box at 4 pm every evening and watches the feeders and anything that moves, including my 3 dogs and the squirrels that continue to run up his tree and sit ontop of his box. The owl goes inside when the squirrels are on top but comes back out a few minutes after they leave. It flies out of the box between 5:15 and 5:25 pm and returns in the am at 7:00, at which time it sticks it's head out and watches the feeders and all activity again. At 7:30 am it goes inside for the day until 4pm, when it all starts all over again. 

 It usually has the sleepy-eyed look, except when it spots alot of bird activity (especially cardinals) at the feeders and then it gets a "Big Wide-eyed look. 
The very first night we watched it, it flew straight at a cardinal on a feeder, but was not successful in the catch! BOY was I ever having a tissey! I was so happy one minute to have an owl in the wood duck box, and then the next minute was sad when I realized it was going to have a smorgasbord at my feeders. Well, low and behold it has only gone after that one cardinal in all this time being here.

I took some pics with my camera up to the lense of my telescope, and tried to transfer them to my computer to post, but the program that used to automatically open when I put my memory card in my computer quit working, and I am lost without it. I've tried everything and came up disappointed.

We do see Wood Ducks checking out our box every year and unfortunately they have never stayed, but now I know they won't. I do have another wood duck box and was wondering if I should hang it up somewhere else in the yard.  I would hate to see it eat Wood Duck ducklings!

We had an exciting time watching a flock of about 10 Eastern Bluebirds checking out the wood duck box to roost in for the evening. Each and every bluebird went to the hole of the box, one at a time, and looked down inside of it! They were all over the tree it was in, and flitting and flying all around it. I was having yet another Tissey, afraid the owl would reach up and eat them! But he must have been fast asleep, thank goodness! The bluebirds continued on their way across the creek and through the woods. 

June Mundis
Conowingo, MD

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