Screech Owl Surprise

Bruce Yolton writes on December 17, 2005:

Tonight was a surprise. Only the Red morph Eastern Screech- Owl flew out of the hole that had been shared by both the Red and Gray morph pair earlier this week near the edge of the Lake in the Rambles. The first sighting was around 4:40 p.m. The fly out was at 5:08 p.m., with the bird flying NW.

Attached [see below] are some pictures, including the upstairs neighbor in the London Plane. I wonder if the Gray owl is the male, who I understand would be responsible for securing a few possible nest sites, and the Red is a female, who's told her mate, "We need a better apartment if we're going to have kids", and sent him off to find a home without squirrels in the attic?

(All pictures taken without flash. Sorry for all the noise, blur and color issues, but I would rather shoot at a high ISO and slow shutter speed than use a flash with the owls. Note how much wider the owl's pupils are open as it gets dark.)
Red-phase Eastern Screech-Owl, 4:44 pm


Red-phase Eastern Screech-Owl at 5:02, just before flyout


The upstairs neighbor, looking down


Photos by Bruce Yolton - 12/17/05