Eastern screech owl nest box

17 years ago

I am trying to determine the best location to place an eastern screech owl nest box. The literature that came with the box suggests putting it at least 10ft up in a tree among the lower canopy. But, I am concerned about my neighbor's cats that do quite a bit of hunting. Has anyone had any luck placing them on a pole? Would a telescoping pole work, or would the box be too heavy? I appreciate any suggestions!

Comments (13)

lisa_in_pa
17 years ago
Bear in mind that wherever you mount them, you will need access to the box later to clean it out. Make sure your pole or tree will hold the weight of a ladder.

Lisa
sheilajoyce_gw
15 years ago
The boxes are built deep and without a perch outside the hole so that no predators can reach the bottom of the box, where the nesting occurs.
Related Discussions
Rodents vs owls - nest boxes - success?
Q
Comments (7)
We live near a lagoon with a lot of birds, many migrating, also see hawks - think it's red shoulder, that sometimes land on telephone poles, but have never seen any owls. We live near the beach. A few years ago, I worked at an in-land hospital on the 3rd floor. It had recessed windows on the upper floors. A pair of barn owls raised 2 fledglings on the window sill. It was amazing that the little tykes didn't fall off the ledge, especially since the parents were gone frequently hunting for food. I was surprised to see them in such an environment - in the middle of a bustling city - and especially the place they chose to lay their clutch. Still trying to decide the best approach to keeping the damage down from the mole/vole diggers. I want to create a water-conserving front yard anyway, so the lawn isn't being watered - so perhaps that in itself may be a deterrant, however, in the back yard, my main concern is for my newly planted dwarf apple trees - they are doing so great, would hate to lose them now. Thanks for your thoughts. Bejay
...See More
Owl Box, but no owl...
Q
Comments (20)
Animals can be so strange....you may put all your time and effort into building just the right box, selecting a 'perfect' site, and then....nothing. Or the opposite may happen, and it will seem as if they were sitting around WAITING for you to get their new home up and going for them. I think it's different for everybody, but you will have to be PATIENT. Years ago we got a booklet from the DNR that had blueprints and general info for houses that were specific for each species. We looked it over and chose to make wood duck boxes, thinking they would have a place to nest by our pond. What we learned, in fact, was that many species simply don't care if a box is not "designed" for them...if they can get their bodies through the hole, there's nobody already at home (depending on the animal this may not matter either) and the place seems safe enough, it's a done deal. Not only will screech owls use a duck box as a day haven, they will indeed nest and rear young in them. There is a slough I frequent that has three duck boxes on it, and during one spring I discovered one particular box was home to a nest of screechies. I think the slough was dry that year, but usually this box is surrounded by about 2 1/2 feet of water...a rough first flight for any chick. I can't recall how many chicks were in that nest...I will have to try to dig out the animal album and find the photos. But they will use a duck box. When we first hung out duck boxes here at our place, I was getting frustrated waiting. It was something like three years before we finally found a nest, and then all three boxes had action!! It's worth the wait, so hang in there. But I'm still waiting for bats to use their house....I don't think they need any extra places with all the shagbark hickories. But the winner in my Crazy Nester category goes to the bluebirds at my dad's place. For the past three years, there has been a pair of bluebirds nesting in his martin house. Not a thing to be seen of any martins, but these blues are shoulder to shoulder with house sparrows and to this day I don't yet understand how they are pulling this off.
...See More
Eastern Screech Owl
Q
Comments (11)
I know this may seem a little bit off topic, but for anyone out there who has younger children in their lives, one of the best children's books out there, for both story and illustrations, is "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen. I read this to my daughter for years and have given it as gifts. I also recommended it to countless people when I worked for Barnes and Noble. If you want nature, and especially wild birds, to hold fascination for your child, this is a great start. Walking out in the evening to see a special bird where he lives and being awe-struck by that bird sends a powerful message. It is a wonderful way to inspire some interest in nature and in owls, or birds, in particular. I hope some of you (who haven't already) get to enjoy it!
...See More
Screech owl perched on my chimney
Q
Comments (4)
About 5 years ago, my neighbor found a screech owl sitting in her pine tree during the day. It stayed in the same spot while we took pictures of it and it stuck around a few days. My neighbor bought mice and fed it to the owl by setting the mouse on the ground. That was her choice, I'd never do that, but I wonder if that's why the owl stuck around in that spot for a couple days, in the daytime.
...See More
sowngrow (8a)
15 years ago
Information I've read, states to put the nest box in a tree, facing south if possible. I didn't read which direction to face it, when my husband put ours up, 5 years ago. I've got it facing northeast so we can see it from our window. Of course, I'm in a fairly mild climate, zone 8a. Ours is about 9' off the ground because that's as high as we could put it with the ladder we have. After 5 years, I'm happy to report we have our first male eastern screech owl, inhabiting the box! As far as cats go, they're a major threat to the baby owls when they're born. Check out Chris' Eastern Screech owl cam site for more info. He's lost many of the owls to cats and recommends installing a sheet metal guard on the tree 3' below the owl box to deter predators and removing it once they're ready to leave the nest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chris' Eastern Screech owl web cam
diana127
Original Author
15 years ago
We ended up putting the nest box about 10ft up in a tree. It remained vacant for about a year with the exception of a few visiting squirrels. We are so fortunate to now have a screech owl in the nest box. The owl has been visiting the box since the summer.
sowngrow (8a)
15 years ago
That's cool. I hope he sticks around. The one that was roosting in the box we put up, disappeared after 2 months. I hope a larger owl didn't nab him as we found a squirrel dumped on our driveway a couple mornings after the screech owl disappeared and then a few nights later, my son saw a large owl, one house down from ours, flying across the road.
beatrice_outdoors
15 years ago
We have two eastern screech owls that visit our back yard every night now. We've lived here for 13 years and never saw them before. Does anyone know if this means they will stay, or could they only be here for one year? We're hoping it's a mating pair, and are planning to put up a box to encourage them to stay.
sowngrow (8a)
15 years ago
beatrice-from what I've read Eastern Screech owls do not migrate. When they find a nesting site they tend to stick around. Good luck and keep us updated on the pair!
Robin
back_yard_girl
14 years ago
We placed a nest box about 12 feet up in our pine facing West. We have a nesting pair of Eastern Screech Owls, and they don't seem to mind that they are so close to the house - about 20 feet from our patio.

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of my nesting owls
sowngrow (8a)
14 years ago
Good for you back yard girl! Great shots of the owls.
tom_fiorill
13 years ago
Three years ago I built a screech owl nest box and put it in a maple about 15 feet above the ground. After a starling nest and two years of squirrels, a family of red morph screech owls have moved in. The tree is at the edge of a wooded area facing south toward a 20 acre area of open organic farm, some wooded area and open field. The fledglings can often be seen peaking out of the hole. I live in eastern Long Island NY.
sowngrow (8a)
13 years ago
Good for you tom. Please start a new thread and post photos of them if possible. I have had an Eastern Screech owl box up for 5 years and this spring was the first time we were fortunate to have a family raised in it. I got pictures of all 4 of the owlets as they left the box. I'll post some of them in a new thread, soon.
julysun
13 years ago
Several years ago I built and mounted a Wood Duck box on a tree near a creek near here. Checking it months later found a young Raccoon fast asleep in it! I ran him off, repaired the front that he had removed and put tin wrap on the tree. Sadly, I seldom visit the box, it is deep in a big thicket. I hope something is using it!
jerseyearth Zone 6NJ
10 years ago
Well, julysun, you evicted the racoon, don't visit the box, and hope something is using it. The racoon was. As good a critter as any, I think. Live and let live.

Eastern screech owl nest box

Comments (13)

lisa_in_pa

sheilajoyce_gw

Related Discussions

sowngrow (8a)

diana127
Original Author

sowngrow (8a)

beatrice_outdoors

sowngrow (8a)

back_yard_girl

sowngrow (8a)

tom_fiorill

sowngrow (8a)

julysun

jerseyearth Zone 6NJ

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Eastern screech owl nest box

Comments (13)

Related Discussions

diana127Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

diana127
Original Author