As Yellowstone slowly drifts towards autumn, the last days of summer are just beginning to show signs of transformation. Young aspens hint at fiery yellow. Willows blend red, orange and gold. The cottonwoods along Lamar River still hold their green leaves as the grass in the valley fades to brown. Each day more changes appear. By the end of the week snow will dust the mountain tops, and hillsides will become a collage of color.
Our tour began in Galway where we were picked up by our host, Cait, and driven to Moycullen and Curra Farm where we spent the first three nights of our trip. The stone farmhouse is nestled along the shore of Lough Corrib, the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland and bordered by forest and pastures.
Last week’s snow has almost melted. The 2-6 inches that closed I-90 and roads in Yellowstone is now patches of snow and dustings of white on mountains. In some places, like the mountains across from the cabin, a layer of white blankets the peaks, shining in the morning sun and glowing mysteriously in moonlight.
Winter’s chill is back and the owl is back in the box after a week of seasonally warm weather and a torrential rain storm. The owl fidgets in a corner, pokes its beak into the shavings looking for food.
The owl was not in the box today. A sudden panic sets in – has he left? Yesterday an owl was in the box, tearing at some piece of food, probably a bird. This alone was new behavior; until now, the owl has sat in the box contentedly without bringing any prey in, and it seemed possible this was a different owl, perhaps the female?
I watched the owl leave tonight. 6:25 p.m. Each evening a little later as the sun sinks behind the horizon. If I were outside, I would absorb the silence of the day’s shadows. It is almost the end of January. Soon his mate will arrive. We hope. He has not left the box since he arrived. The day he is not there will be a sign.
Sunday morning it was 20º at 9:00 a.m. Overnight the neighborhood transformed into a gray, frozen world: bird baths frozen solid, the backyard silent; not even a wren hopping around the patio.
The male screech owl is still in the box. He has not left once since he arrived. When was that? October 28. He leaves the box around 5:40-5:45 p.m., a little later as the days begin to lengthen.
It began on October 26, 2023, when the male screech owl first appeared in the owl box and stayed each day, leaving just as evening shadows hid his nightly flight. On Thanksgiving Day, there was a surprise in the owl box – two screech owls - something we have never seen before.
Maybe it was just curious, just checking the box out for future use. As I watched hummingbirds chase each other from the feeder, a small brown head popped out of the owl box entrance. A squirrel.
