Slumlord

Hannibal is a Slumlord. Interesting?!? I don't remember asking for squirrels as tennants. I don't remember getting paid rent. None-the-less, for several years now, a squirrel has had squatters rights to the Screech Owl Box I built a few years ago. She has been a terrible tennant too. She's ripped off the siding, broke the perch off the front entrance, and who knows what terrible things she's done to the inside, but I digress...She won my heart over a few weeks ago, as I saw new life peek out of the hole. A cute little squeak was the first clue, as I scanned the area for the source, and saw the tiny lil head trying to see out. (These photos were taken a week later, and they are MUCH bigger!) Anyway, This is what I saw:



Adorable right?



I knew there was at least 2, maybe three, as the days passed...



Here's a shot with mama, which brings me to the real story:



I walked by my kitchen window on Saturday, looked out to the Owlbox, hoping to see a lil face, and what I saw puzzled me. I saw what looked like a big ball of fur poking out of the hole. Weird! I got the binoculars and saw that is was mom with a baby in her mouth, and she was moving out! I knew right away that she was moving her babies, and watched her as she headed in the direction of her new home. She was moving across the street to a neighbors tree. Hmmm...She must think it no longer safe for her kids, as they are getting more curious with each passing day. I do have a dog, so I think mom is absolutely right in moving her children. Anyway, I grabbed my camera and waited for her to move the second one. This is what I saw:



This lil guy started crawling out of the box as soon as mom left with the first one. When mom came back, she was none-too-happy that the lil one was exposed...



She started scooping it up at a really awkward angle...





These frames only represent a partial segment of her scooping him up, but then this post would be extremely lengthy if I didn't jump a few frames at a time.



She moved them approximately 100 yards at my my best estimate. A really long trip with a load in your mouth with each trip.






She was amazing to watch!



The baby all tucked under was so cute!



She came back 1 more time to get the final baby. She had to be exhausted!



I miss them...I'm hoping she will be back to reclaim her Owlbox as her nest some day. This Slumlord smiles at the thought of it all over again...