Help with a first time owl nesting box

March 12, 2019 9:19 AM

I live just within the city limits of Atlanta and many years I hear Barred Owls and in some years I’ve been able to spot them. I decided to splurge and buy a barred owl box from Wild Birds Unlimited but I have a bunch of questions regarding how to properly mount it, placement, maintenance and attracting the owls to it.

First, here are some pictures of the box. https://imgur.com/a/5rdrGRX

As you can see, it has two mounting loops on the back. Should I just use large screws and drill two into the tree pushing against these loops? Should I use some sort of chain to hang it on? I’m not super handy so any advice on how to do this well would be helpful. (I have a 20 foot ladder, so I should definitely be able to get it up at a decent height).

Secondly, does it truly matter which direction it faces? I guess ideally I’d have it face our house, but it’d be facing west if I did that. Should I place it just above some limbs, for the owls to hang out on if possible, or would placing it on a very open part of the tree that is far from any limbs ok? I've seen some videos where people nail on limbs to the front under the opening, for the babies to potentially perch on. Is this recommended or unnecessary?

Next, there is no way to open the box to clean it out…this seems odd to me. Do I or should I ever get on a ladder and peek in? Put my arm in? This seems like a bad idea for a variety of reasons, right? Any advice here would be helpful.

Finally, how should I go about enticing the owls to the area? We have plenty of rodents, and a small stream within 50 yards of the house, so that probably helps but if there are other ways to make the presence of the box known, what should I do?

Thanks so much for any and all advice.

posted by arm426 to Pets & Animals (5 answers total)

There is some useful information on the about positioning of the box but that seems to be for a screech owl. This site references Wild Birds Unlimited, but frustratingly limited information on their actual website though.

How to Attract a Barred Owl to an Owl House

This how-to build a box also shows using a chain between the two holders AND has good information on placing and positioning. [PDF]
posted by terrapin at 9:45 AM on March 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Hungry Owl project has some good resources including a FAQ.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:56 AM on March 12, 2019

Barred owls are territorial, with large territories. They also mate for life, live up to 18-20 years, and tend to reuse nesting sites (so I'd assume they don't need you doing housekeeping). If you're hearing them / seeing them near your house, the territory may already be claimed. The good news is that they don't nest until winter, and any eggs they laid should be hatching about now, so you can try to observe the owls near you and figure out how far you are from their nesting site.
Cornell ornithology's guide to barred owl next boxes suggests at least half a mile away is good and has lots of other advice on placement.
posted by momus_window at 2:35 PM on March 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

Assuming you shopped online, note that there are three Wild Birds Unlimited shops in metro Atlanta, all just inside the I-285 perimeter, so there is likely a location surprisingly close to you. I'm sure they'd be happy to advise, especially if you bought your item from them (read: if purchased online, return it, and then go buy it from the local franchise :) ).

The Decatur location of WBU has fairly limited hours of 10am-6pm, so I bet the owner/franchisee is there during those hours, and will likely be extremely knowledgable.
posted by intermod at 8:12 PM on March 12, 2019

Response by poster: The Decatur store is exactly where I bought it :) Not so sure how I feel about the owner...and his advice didn’t go much beyond the slip of paper that came with the box.
posted by arm426 at 9:32 PM on March 12, 2019