I was reading a gardening blog from a local Austinite when I came across this post where she detailed her homemade owl box and its new occupant. I immediately forwarded the link to B and he had the same reaction as I did: "We need an owl box!"
Further reading revealed that owls actually nest in deserted nests or hollow trees so owl boxes make a welcome home for them. You can certainly buy prefabricated ones online. This one looks more like an owl condo.
You can also make one yourself which is what we're leaning towards. And when I say "we will make one" I actually mean B. There are a lot of plans online with great directions and tips especially here and here.
Now it seems like the most difficult part is actually enticing an owl to make its nest in the box and that may take a while. We've heard some hooting recently at night so I'm hopeful that there are owls around our area that would love a little owl box to call their own.
Whoa. This is SO cool. I want an owl box!
ReplyDeleteThis is Sydney, by the way. I couldn't post under my usual name. Strange.
Sydney--I'll get B working on two owl boxes ;o)
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I love owls, although it does weird me out a bit that they can turn their heads all the way around... thats kinda freaky. :)
ReplyDeletelol Lisa I think you're thinking of your dad's owl in the yard :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! Great idea. I can't wait to see if you end up with an owl neighbor :)
ReplyDeleteHow is your progress with your owl box? I am building one for mice control reasons... Have you found some tenets yet :)?
ReplyDeleteHow high off the ground do these houses need to be?
ReplyDeletesupposedly pretty high. ours is about 12 feet high in the tree and the owls seem to love it!
DeleteHow do you attract owls & keep out the birds?
ReplyDeleteI guess part of the appeal of the owl box is that it resembles what owls normally tend to look for in a nest (up high, small opening). We've had great success attracting owls. We've also had great success attracting squirrels. But we just let mother nature work it out for the most part!
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