Owl Nesting Boxes

[mblatz]

Continuing the discussion from Show and Tell February 2022:

@Scott_Blevins:

– How did these screech owl nesting boxes work out? Did they attract any tenants?

– Did you do anything to attract tenants? If so what? Zillow?

– Did you Vcarve the pieces for repeatability or just cut from a mental picture or cut list?

Where I am heading is maybe a day where interested members can get together and assembly line as many as wanted.

Hell…might even make for a general “public good” and/or “DMS Brand Awareness/Goodwill” project day. Put them up in a bunch of places (where wanted and legal) in the area or wherever. Or have ready-to-assemble kits available up front for donations.

Does having owls around have any downsides?

[Lordrook]

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Photomancer]

Bat houses are great for flying insect control - pretty simple to make also.

[mblatz]

@mblatz

Did you do anything to attract tenants?

Here’s at least one write-up:

Easy Tips for How to Attract Owls

How To Make An Owl Nesting Box? — Forest Wildlife

Nest Box Tips and Tricks

[Scott_Blevins]

@mblatz

– How did these screech owl nesting boxes work out? Did they attract any tenants?

I have one owl box up in a tree, with a webcam, installed in late February. No tenants yet, but it’s a crap-shoot in terms of when owls will find your nest-box. Many people report quick tenants, and some folks report that it takes months (or even years) before owls take up residence.
– Did you do anything to attract tenants? If so what? Zillow?

Zillow regularly emails me, proclaiming that the selling price of my owl-box has tripled in the last 30 days. Maybe with the cost-per-square-foot being so high in the D/FW area, owls simply cannot afford to live in my neighborhood?

Hanging the nest-box 12’ - 20’ up into a tree (or via a telescoping pole), and placing 3” of cedar wood curls (not shavings, not sawdust) in the nest-box helps attract owls. Also, mounting the nest-box on the East / SE side of a tree/post/pole helps keep heat down in the box. There are good nest-box plans all over the internet.

– Did you Vcarve the pieces for repeatability or just cut from a mental picture or cut list?

I just used a cut list…a 3” hole saw for the entrance, and the table-saw and miter saw for everything else. I suppose v-carve files would also make for nice repeatability when making multiple boxes.

Where I am heading is maybe a day where interested members can get together and assembly line as many as wanted.

That sounds like a fun idea! I’d be interested, as well as a well-known (within the D/FW screech owl community) owl Facebook page called ‘Screech Owls of Flo Mo’. It’s an invite only FB page, but they’re pretty good about responding with an approval).

Hell…might even make for a general “public good” and/or “DMS Brand Awareness/Goodwill” project day. Put them up in a bunch of places (where wanted and legal) in the area or wherever. Or have ready-to-assemble kits available up front for donations.

( Eagle Scouts have done this in my neck of the woods, and the boxes are all over town. Very cool project, if you ask me).

Does having owls around have any downsides?

Any raptor taking up residence is going to piss off other birds, but if you want rats, snakes, lizards, gone, they’re your best friend. Note: don’t put out rat poison nearby, as the owls will eat the dead rats, and entire owl families can (and do) die after consuming one tainted rat carcass. Owls are the more ‘organic’ solution, and one that I far prefer, over poison.

[Photomancer]

One article I read said that is not a really big problem and you can have bird feeders also. Most birds that use the feeder are “Day Birds” and owls hunt at night. So if they are in by the time street lights come on, they shouldn’t get into trouble.

But they are great for other problem small animals.

[Scott_Blevins]

@Photomancer

Most birds that use the feeder are “Day Birds” and owls hunt at night. So if they are in by the time street lights come on, they shouldn’t get into trouble.

Yep, agreed. There are plenty of birds out there, and if 1 or 2 become owl food, I’m not concerned. The benefits far outweigh the negatives. And yes, bird feeders will still attract birds to your home.

[Photomancer]

The article said one other important thing to attract owls: A deep bird bath, from the picture it looked like about 4" or so of water depth. Helps other birds also.

@Mrholthaus maybe you could have a metal forming “Beat to Shape” classes and make some DIY bird baths!

[SWA]

Could this be a Multicam community project for the cutting process? Or are you wanting to manually cut and drill a few hundred of these?

[Scott_Blevins]

Multicam would definitely be a good way to go.

[SWA]

We are building a Multicam program to support community projects for DMS and other local non-profits. We have many awesome and highly skilled members ready to provide support services such as CAD, CAM and production runs.

Just let us know how we can help you achieve your goals.