The Donnellys Lake Saw-whets
 

This was another late nest, with the first egg being laid around the 10th of June; normally, most nests would have been finished by this time, but this one just started. Could this be a second nest?

Mom

The Clutch

Six eggs and a headless Deer Mouse18 June, six eggs and a headless Deer Mouse
12 July, one chick, four eggs

19 July, four chicks, one egg and a shrew (likely a Pygmy Shrew)

23 July, five chicks in a pile

27 July, three chicks. This was the last day that we found the mother incubating the chicks.

Last nestling about to become a fledgling.14 August, last nestling, ready to leave.

Prey

19 July, Pygmy Shrew (likely)  

12 July, Red-backed Vole, Canada Warbler

Cleaning out the box

   

At the end of the season the box must be cleaned out. I save the nest material to look for prey remains (of which there are typically loads). Why the protective gear? If you have to ask, you've never disturbed nest material before! Whew! Four weeks worth of guano and prey remains is not an aroma that perfume manufacturers will be seeking!

My new ladder

    owl watching me from the nest box - see the glow in its eyes at the hole     

Since many of my sites are well off the road, bringing in a ladder can be very awkward. Building a ladder on site is a second-best option, is time consuming and the ladders will eventually rot. So I searched the web for portable ladders, and found this one made mostly for tactical operations. For more info on this ladder, see the QuickStep website. It's a joy to use, fits on a frame backpack, and sets up in seconds. It is a bit on the heavy side, about 15 kg, but I'm not Hercules (not quite, anyway!), and I find it ok to carry on my back for quite some time.

 

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R.F. Lauff

Department of Biology
St. Francis Xavier University
Antigonish, NS Canada
B2G 2W5