Date: 10/14/25 8:56 am From: Daniel Getman <000003a484abda6a-dmarc-request...> Subject: Eastern Screech Owl Occupying Nest Box!
We now have an Eastern Screech Owl using one of our nest boxes. It appears to be a Gray Morph Owl. They also exist as a Red Morph.
The box is designed for either an Eastern Screech Owl or an American Kestrel and has a 3 inch hole. It is readily visible from our back patio and is approx 30-40 yds away. It’s in a small opening surrounded by Eastern Red Cedar and a stand of Eastern White Pines - probably perfect for an owl. This is the same nest box that the Great Crested Flycatchers seem to prefer, even though it's larger than their recommended nest box size - location must be everything.
I first had evidence of an owl occupying this box in Feb 2025, when I found 3 owl pellets in the box. This year, I've twice found small feathers, the most recent on Oct 4, 2025.
Today was the 1st time I've actually seen the owl. It was sitting at the nest box hole today at 8:15am. The weather was cool at 62F, cloudy and with little wind from the ENE@ 6 mph.
For some time my Haikubox has been picking up an Eastern Screech Owl call, but it hasn't been the well-known whinny or trill calls.
Anyways, pretty cool. I'll have to watch the box regularly now. Photos can be viewed at: flickr.com/photos/dgetman/sets
In other activity, both yesterday and today, we’ve had lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers flying around the yard, as well as several Red-breasted Nuthatches and for the last couple days, our first Dark-eyed Juncos. Today, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker visited the yard. We only see them during the fall and winter. The hummingbirds appear to have moved on.
Dan Getman, Kirksville, northeast MO
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