Owl Photography and Videography in Your Backyard: Part #1

It will take quite awhile to go through all the digital photo and video documentation of the 2012 Screech Owls. Thought I'd share some cute owl videos for now. Backyard birding and photographing and videoing them go hand in hand. Having taken up photography again as a hobby after many years the owls make the perfect subject. Owls are unique in that they are quite evocative and you get to know them as individuals and realize they are each unique.  I've found that since my last serious foray into photography technology has evolved to where "point and shoots" and "bridge" cameras can rival much more expensive cameras and dedicated video equipment. This video was shot with a Canon SX40 HS 12MP 35X Optical Zoom Digital Camera superzoom bridge camera which is about the size of an SLR, but has an all in one 24-840mm lens. This is an amazing camera if your expectations are realistic and you understand the limitations of auto focus and stabilization. Price is around $400.

Shorter Version

A little more drama in the extended cut!

Red morph and grey owlets - two obviously distinct personalities!

These HD videos were taken on May 8th before dusk at the full zoom 840mm setting. If you try and get too close to the nest box they get nervous and retreat or act unnatural - at a reasonable distance they find you fascinating to observe - always an ego boost, and act more natural. This requires zoom power. The area in the video is roughly 6 inches by 8 inches - in the original 1920x1080 it looks amazing on a large HD TV. This video is reduced in size for uploading to the web. However, you must use a solid tripod to get these kind of results. I'm impressed with the low-light capability of this camera and the sound quality from two microphones on the front to provide stereo audio. The bird calling in the distance is very clear.  My point and shoot Cannon SX230HS that most of the photos and video documentation was taken with is almost as good, but the zoom only goes to 14X, or about 400mm.  Cannon has just come out with the SX260HS with 20x zoom capability at about the same price point. 

Many people complain that the pictures taken with these super-zoom cameras are not as clear as expected - the reality is that no amount of image stabilization or auto-focusing is going to completely overcome handshake and hunting for a subject at high zoom levels. More on amateur photo/video in your backyard in future blogs.

Screech Owl Nest Box Experiences and Advice Part#1

Having made bird feeding and watching a hobby, a suggestion to check out other bird houses while shopping online lead to the purchase of a Stovall Screech Owl nest box. We'd occasionally seen larger owls around the neighborhood at night and gave this a try. The nest box was filled with wood chips included in the package and put up on a 12 foot long 2x4 attached to a post on our backyard fence in early December 2010. As near as I could tell this was less than ideal, but as good as it was going to get.  On February 27th, 2011 we noticed something looking out of the nest box and in fact, a Screech Owl had taken up residence.

Stovall Screech Owl Nest Box

Occupied Stovall Screech Owl Nest Box 

 Note:   If you make your own nest box please make it out of cedar wood. This Blog post will explain why pine is not a good idea.

Apparently we were lucky to have owls so soon. We did not have a camera in the nest box so our involvement consisted of watching the owl off and on during the days. We were not really that tuned in to the owls lives, nor aware of their progress in the reproductive cycle. I ordered a nest camera  in April, by then we could see feeding activity around dusk. I realizing there was no way to put it inside at this late stage, so I set it up outside very close to the box. These videos were collected on that first night:

Nightime Feeding Videos from 2011 Season

We were lucky -the next day they were gone! I now know that this night of April 24th, 2011 was the final feeding frenzy at fledging just as we saw this year on May 10th.  We were hooked - things were not so easy for 2012, there were a lot of trials and tribulations that I will share in the coming weeks.

  

No Sleep After the Midnight Shift

By May 4th it was getting too crowded and hot in the nest box during the day and the Mother Red Morph Screech Owl began spending her days in a nearby Palmetto Tree relatively open to the outside world. This puts her at risk and this type of behavior is only seen with the small owls when they are guarding the nest box to protect the owlets which could be easily taken by other birds of prey. The day before a pair of American Kestrels attempted to claim the nest box while Mrs Owl was inside with the owlets - they made only a token effort before being chased off. If the mother wasn't there the outcome would have been different. So on this day she was close to the box and in the open. She had been up all night feeding the owlets with the old man and would typically get some sleep in the tree. Although this morning - it wasn't going to happen!  Nearby birds and their babies are making too much noise and if she would be discovered by Blue Jays or Mockingbirds they might attack her as she has no advantage in the daytime so she needs to remain vigilant even though she is exhausted.

Mother Screech Owl trying to get some rest while guarding the nest box.

Why The Nest Box is So Clean!

Empty Screech Owl  Nest Box May 12th, 2012

When I cleaned out the nest box last spring 2011 after last years brood left the nest I was surprised at how clean and fresh it was. A few palmetto bug wings and that was about it. The nest box was just as clean after the owlets fledged on May 11th this year. The nest box contained a few small insect parts and the wood chips were relatively fresh. Considering that the mother and 3 owlets spent about 60 days in the nest box eating dozens of lizards and frogs a few snakes and mice and probably several hundred large insects that's a pretty amazing feat. I learned that an Owls digestive system is unique  - rather than spoil the area in and around their nest with excrement and the remains of their victims their digestive system absorbs nutrients and water  from what they eat and they regurgitate the undigested parts as "pellets" away from the nest area. If you really want all the details check out the link.

Father Screech Owl "throwing up"Expelling a pellet

I happened to catch the male owl expelling a pellet on the evening of April 30th as he sat in an oak tree near the nest. With one way in and one way out of their digestive system - they obviously have to clear out the previous nights undigested food before they feed again. As soon as its dark he will begin taking food to the nest to feed mom and the three owlets. Mrs. Owl collects all the regurgitated material from the baby owls as well as her own and expels it in a nearby tree it first thing when she leaves the next at night. This results in a clean nest that does not attract pests and predators. Screech Owls obviously produce small pellets compared to other owls and they can be found around the yard occasionally.  Being omnivorous their pellets contain a quite a selection, but it is clear the diet consists primarily of palmetto bugs, beetles and  small lizards - some hair/feathers and pieces of wood chips are typically found as well.