As you can see from the image above, I have left the owl box door open for the past two days to air it out.

   It was a bit rude.

   After cleaning out the last of the mess left behind by the Ace family, I put in new wood chips so we are all set for the next season.

   When I took the photo below, I noticed that one of the owlets had knocked the video-cam slightly off kilter.

   I will adjust that in the next few days.

   The question that some of you are perhaps wondering is, "Will the owls come back, and if so, when?"

   I'm guessing that in five or six months, either Ace will return or a new owl will move in, and the saga will begin anew.

   I am told that screech owls tend to return to successful nests, and that when you get owls year after year, you must have a pretty good location.

   Patty and I have had an owl box on the same swamp maple tree since December 2002.

   In late October 2004, we got our first screech owl, Otus, a red-phased owl. He found a mate and they nested in the box.

   In early November 2005, we got our second screecher, a gray phase. He found a mate but they did not successfully nest in the box.

  In late November 2006, Ace arrived, and the rest is (natural) history.

    Tomorrow: How helpful were the

  expert's tips for the owl box?