When a snag is not a home

I eyed this black oak with growing interest for two years. Those two knot holes, about 30 feet up, looked like they were made for owls.

Three weeks ago I got around to staking it out with a camera trap. I lashed the telescoping pole to a fir sapling, and raised the camera to the cavities.



Looks can be deceiving. I didn't even get a picture of a squirrel.

It looks as though the upper hole collects water which trickels into the lower cavity where it overflows. Somehow I failed to notice this.

No self respecting squirrel or owl would have anything to do with such a shabby place. Which reminds me, I have to repair the roof this summer.