My mother had a demented cardinal that would repeatedly hurl himself against the kitchen window. She put a plastic snake on the window sill, and it stopped. But, then the same bird started hanging out on my mother's car, looking at himself in the car mirrors and crapping down the side of her car. He would do this all day long. This bird drove my mother crazy. She had to keep plastic bags over her car mirrors for several years so that she wouldn't have to clean bird crap off the car door every time she got in it. She even thought about hiring someone to shoot the bird. My "new age" aunt told my mother that she thought that the bird was my deceased father reincarnated as a bird who was trying to communicate with her. Frankly, I think my dad would know better than to crap down the side of my mother's car. LOL!

sowngrow - lucky you! I am out there every night listening for the owls, but I think they have selected their nesting sites no it's no go for me this year. Keep taking photos so we can know how they are doing. I want screech owls badly (and turkeys, go figure) and yours are encouraging. This summer we plan to grow gourds for the first time. Any recommendation on seed brands? Got the type of gourd but don't know if any brand is better than another. builder24car - the horizontal roosting box 22" long, 8 1/2 deep, 7" tall front, 9" tall back. Roof over hangs 2" in front, 1" sides. Hole is 2" and the dowels were placed about titmice height apart, and so that the birds would not roost on top of each other, hence not poop on each other. I will take the front off & dowels out, add a small lip on the front bottom for doves & robins to nest in. They nest easily on shelves, and it's there so I'll use it. Understand our measurements are just stuff we are winging! It's untreated, unpainted rough cedar.

According to the Migratory Bird Act, it is illegal to remove nests of any native migratory birds. "Unless permitted by regulations, the Act provides that it is unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture or kill; attempt to take, capture or kill; possess, offer to or sell, barter, purchase, deliver or cause to be shipped, exported, imported, transported, carried or received any migratory bird, part, nest, egg or product, manufactured or not." "Birds protected under the act include all common songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, hawks, owls, eagles, ravens, crows, native doves and pigeons, swifts, martins, swallows and others, including their body parts (feathers, plumes etc), nests, and eggs." There are over 800 species of bird protected by this act. My understanding is that the only birds whose nests it is legal to destroy are House Sparrows, European Starlings, pigeons, and a few odd others (escaped parakeets, e.g.). Even house wrens are protected. http://www.sialis.org/mbta.htm Here is a link that might be useful: Migratory Bird Treaty

We have screech owls who nest in the woods beside the house in our nesting box or in a tree and we treat them like "they aren't there"... LOL as if we didn't spend LOTS of time watching them, esp when the babes fledge. But for the most part, I find whether it's owls, wrens, or something in between, just go about your normal routines and they will adapt accordingly (moving further away from the yard if that's their choice). I'd keep the cat inside "just in case" but don't think the kids will have any problems. Nice pic and aren't you lucky. We feel blessed when the larger owls come into the yard.