Owl nesting box

[Pete Hart]

There are quite a few owls around living around my place (mainly screech owls), and i was considering putting up a nesting box for them.

The tree i had in mind is a large mature Scarlet Oak set fairly secluded at the bottom of the garden.... my question is.... what size should the box be, and should there be any specific requirements, as i want to make it myself? I'm thinking they should be quite large but if any one has any ideas on this it would be much appreciated!

Cheers, Pete

[bats-n-trees]

There are quite a few owls around living around my place (mainly screech owls), and i was considering putting up a nesting box for them.

The tree i had in mind is a large mature Scarlet Oak set fairly secluded at the bottom of the garden.... my question is.... what size should the box be, and should there be any specific requirements, as i want to make it myself? I'm thinking they should be quite large but if any one has any ideas on this it would be much appreciated!

Cheers, Pete

Just google the barn owl trust.That will be a start,they are not that far from you anyway. Google owls and you should get plenty of info /diagrams/measurements/materials etc. Any probs pm me and I will get my old files out. Good luck and well done for thinking about nature.

[Pete Hart]

I will get on to google and see what i can find!

Just thought it would be great to give them somewhere to nest close by, to hopefully encourage them and as a result get to see them more regularly!

There are scores of green woodpeckers (the inspiration for my user name....'yaffle'!) living in the pines near by, and put a box up for them and they love it.

Hopefully i might get a few takers from the megascops!!

[Blaisey]

As we moved on to wood peckers I heard one in my garden and it sounded very loud. When i went for a closer look he was hammering on one of my bat boxes which was amplifying the sound.

 

I brought an owl box of a conservation group I think it was the RSPB because it goes to a good cause and is the right dimensions, however the only thing using it was the squrils so it had to come down.

[bats-n-trees]

As we moved on to wood peckers I heard one in my garden and it sounded very loud. When i went for a closer look he was hammering on one of my bat boxes which was amplifying the sound.

 

I brought an owl box of a conservation group I think it was the RSPB because it goes to a good cause and is the right dimensions, however the only thing using it was the squrils so it had to come down.

IF your woody was hammering on the bat box recently he is sounding off about territory and possibly trying to impress the girls. They have been observed hammering on metal electric pylons !! The sound carries farther that way.

 

Occasionally they will ruin wooden bat boxes.Some of the bird boxes have metal round the entrance hole to stop them enlarging the holes.When you hear them drumming if it short say about two seconds then that will be the greater spotted. If it lasts twice as long that will be the much more rare lesser spotted.

 

They are very hard to spot.About the size of a large sparrow and spend much of their time high up in the canopy in oak woods.They also frequent old orchards. We are currently surveying Herefordshire for them to try and establish numbers and learn more about them for the future.

 

The green woodpecker is a ground feeder most of the time.Its favourite food is ants.

 

Any bats using your boxes yet ?

[Blaisey]

The bats come and go and we had one fly in the barn door in the lounge last summer grab a moth buzzing in front of the TV the wizz out again which was pretty cool.(pipistrall my uncle is a batman)

 

Def greater spotted in the orchard i will post some pics of the holes.

 

I like bats but prefer birds my favourite is the Double Breasted Matters Thrasher

[timberbear]

Put two barn owl boxes up in our little copse on the edge of our field, great success. Three broods in two years. Kestrel box up in oak tree. I use hollow logs filled with sawdust, hole cut out for green woodpecker and then braced to a clean trunk. Works every time. Check my website http://www.leechpoolholdings.co.uk

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

The bats come and go and we had one fly in the barn door in the lounge last summer grab a moth buzzing in front of the TV the wizz out again which was pretty cool.(pipistrall my uncle is a batman)

 

Thats so frigging cool, i would have given my right arm to have seen that!

 

Put two barn owl boxes up in our little copse on the edge of our field, great success. Three broods in two years. Kestrel box up in oak tree. I use hollow logs filled with sawdust, hole cut out for green woodpecker and then braced to a clean trunk. Works every time. Check my website Welcome - Leechpool Wildlife

 

I will check it out now!

[spudulike]

my uncle is a batman)

Thrasher

 

Your Uncle is Batman - cool, do you live in Gotham city, does he have a red telephone - where is Catwoman...phwoar

 

Good idea on the bat boxes, the trend of barn conversions is taking away the natural nesting habitat for barn owls so helping them along is a good idea.

Try this link - The Barn Owl Trust - How to make and erect a Barn Owl nestbox

[Old WoodChip]

Wood Peckers!!

We all know they dont nest in a nest box dont we?

Read on.

I made a long box 2 foot long and 9" square with a 2" hole near the top and a lift off lid to inspect.

Then I filled it with foam (from a can)

I fixed the box on the trunk about 15 foot up and had a woodpecker looking within two days, it was hollowed out and they successfully reared young.

Well worth a try if you have them about and if you havent any in the area why not encourage them with a custom made box filled with foam.

Good luck