Owl nesting box

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

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

 

thats inspired! and VERY selective to peckers! class:thumbup1:

[Blaisey]

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

 

Dont tell everyone

[mrtree]

As I remember after a massive hurricane in the United States, there was a lot of effort made for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, one thing being nest boxes.

 

For owls some nest in cavaties so nest boxes of the correct size are an excellent option for them. If you are lucky enough to have a large owl that creates an open nest (like the Great Grey Owl) a shipping skid or barrel bottom placed in a tree is often a great nesting site.

[bats-n-trees]

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

very good advice. We have about 60 similar boxes hung in old orchards around here last autumn to gauge lesser spotted numbers There are signs of action already !

[armybloke]

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

 

Hi mate, I have a friend who erects Barn Owl boxes (and for other raptors) for the Hawk Conservancy in Andover. As I found out recently there is also a science about where you put a box and not just the dimensions. If you want advice I can hook you up with him via a PM and I know he'd be delighted to help out - you never know he may even come down and fit it up for you! A picture or two of the tree from fixed compass points would help him immensly.