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

I got one built by a good friend of mine after hearing an owl hoot in Fall a few years ago. We downloaded the plans from the web and used cedar to build the box. He mounted it ~20ft up on a PVC pipe and tethered the pole between a pine and a mulberry. Except that the owl never showed up-actually I haven't heard it again. But in the meantime, gray squirrels enlarged the hole and moved in. They have been living there ever since. I figured it is giving shelter to some creature especially in brutal winters such as this one and let it be. Squirrels are quite smart and will take advantage of any structures given half a chance. Mounting your box away from trees and securing it to a wooden pole covered by a smooth PVC pipe/sleeve might do the trick.

Since barred owls use nest boxes, I imagine one could be put up on your tree with proper reinforcement to keep it in place, after nesting season. I know the boxes are larger than the E. Screech Owl box we put up in our tree and I agree if that nest is up high it's best to use a skilled tree person. Not far from me, there was a barred owl nesting in a snag and weather deteriorated it to the point the owls found another tree nearby. The original nest was along a walkway in a park. I haven't found the new nest, but I have seen the owls at dusk and hear them.

Oh, how cool! I have had nesting hawks in my old woods many times.. but have never had visual access to an Owl nest, so I appreciate getting a cloeup up look at one. Gail R (WNY)