The Owl Box (continued)

As posted back in January I have been waiting for a day when the screech-owl is away from the nest box so I can replace the old structure with the nice new box.  Last week I noticed that the owl wasn't looking out the box at dusk so I planned to check the box on the weekend and hopefully install the new box. Sunday I climbed the ladder and took a quick photo to see if the owl was present.

At first I thought that the presence of an Eastern Gray Squirrel in the box was excellent news as I now I could take the box down, trim back some surrounding branches,  install the new box, and wait for the owl to move back in to a fresh box. The squirrel could have only been present for a few days at most so I hoped the owl would move back in quickly.  

  

However, much to my dismay, I heard the distinctive sound of a baby squirrel coming from inside the box. A quick peek in the box showed something tiny and hairless so the young are just a few days old at most. It will be about two months before the young are weaned and ready to leave the nest. Hopefully I'll get the new box up before next winter.