February 14, 2022

February 14, 2022

One of the unexpected benefits of living in Tucson has been our proximity to wildlife. Aimee's favorite experience, hands down, was the Great Horned Owl family that had triplets in a backyard tree. Aimee watched every night.

These encounters have diminished with the explosion of people moving here and taking up much of our open spaces. We rarely see Javelinas now and we found a Great Horned Owl killed in our street last winter. The pack rats however don’t seem to be impacted at all. So sometimes you have to help Mother Nature out a little. Based on a neighbor’s recommendation we installed an Owl Box last summer in a tree outside our master bath. When we returned from our East Coast trip in October, Aimee excitedly told me we had a tenant. Our vocal reaction must have scared him off. We never saw him again. Our friends told us to be patient; it was not the nesting season.

Hoping to make the home more appealing, I raised the box higher in the tree. We checked it every day to no avail. Now many months later, a Screech Owl finally popped its head out! Aimee is elated. Screech Owls are tiny, one half to a third the size of the Great Horned Owls that most frequent our yard. They must have great hearing and eyesight. Even if we stealthily approach the window, our new tenant notices, and stares straight at us. We are being careful not to scare this one away.

Every night we hear our Owl call out to any interested female in the area. Aimee would be overjoyed to discover Screech Owlets playing outside our window. Our bachelor finding true love today would make this a great Valentines Day!