Leonard Weber

February 4, 2025

In November 2024, I reported the observation of an Eastern Screech Owl, sleeping soundly  in a bird box in Eliza Howell Park.

This photo is from that post.

Some of the bird boxes that have been placed in the park are designed for Wood Ducks. This is the size box that Screech Owls tend to utilize, so I have been checking them occasionally this winter.

On December 31, one box contained the dead body of a mouse (probable species  = Deer Mouse).

The next day, the mouse remains were gone.

Screech Owls are known to  cache (store) prey in cavities at times for eating later. Mice are a common prey of Screech Owls. Further, these bird boxes are on poles that mammals are (presumably) unable to climb and are placed far from overhanging trees to prevent mammals from jumping from a tree to the box.

There is no direct observation of a Screech Owl placing or retrieving this mouse, but the above considerations suggest that it was placed here, for temporary storage, by a Screech Owl.

A week later, I used my phone camera to peek into a third box.

I do not know whether this is the same Owl that was spotted in November, but the location leads me to think that it is.

Late in January, the box that had earlier been used as a mouse refrigerator was again put to that use. This time, the rodent, which was headless, had the shape and short tail of a Vole. Owls do decapitate prey on occasion.

The next day, the box was empty.

Until the end of winter (but not when nesting season is about to start), my nature walks will continue to include a few bird box stops.