Eastern Screech-Owls are permanent residents here, found in city, town, and suburb. Like most owls, they are active at night, commonly present but uncommonly seen. A friend has a screech-owl taking shelter in a Wood Duck nesting box in his backyard in Watertown. These owls often borrow bird nesting boxes, particularly Wood Duck boxes, for the winter. They'll leave at night to hunt, prey in the winter consisting of songbirds and rodents. The owls occasionally come to the box opening to sit or to nap, as this bird appears to be doing. If the box faces sunlight, a warm sunny day is almost certain to draw the owl to the entry. Screech-Owls come in two color phases, rufous and grey. This bird, obviously, is of the red persuasion. An acquaintence in Minnetonka has had a screech-owl in his Wood Duck box for the past several years. I've wanted to photograph that bird. I've been alerted by phone several times when the owl was visible in the entry. I've driven over there directly, but have yet to see it. My friend in Watertown has offered to keep an eye on his owl to see if it stays in place and maintains any kind of schedule. I'll give photos another try if the odds look good. Here's Steve's photo.
