Box 12: Cohen Farm

Silk Hope, North Carolina is a small rural community in western Chatham County. Only a 30 minute drive from Chapel Hill, Silk Hope retains the character of the 19th century Piedmont. . .large, open farmlands interspersed with rolling hills and endless country roads. Without a GPS or a good map, it would be very easy to disappear in this part of the Triangle. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Silk Hope gets its name from a little piece of rural history. Legend has it that many decades ago, a local farmer travelled to China and brought back some mulberry trees. With the idea of starting a new silk industry here in the Carolinas, the farmer planted the trees, and waited several years for them to grow. When the trees were large enough to harvest, silk worms were placed on the leaves. . .but they wouldn't eat. The farmer had planted the wrong species of mulberry tree!!!! 

The attempt at creating a silk industry might have been a disaster, but it hasn't deterred Silk Hope from becoming a resilient farm community. Much of the productive land today is planted in monoculture crops, like corn and soybeans, not unlike the rest of rural America. However, there are plenty of cattle farms in the area, which can provide ideal hunting grounds for Barn Owls. 

When scouting land around Silk Hope for our Barn Owl Initiative, I asked Bo Howes of Triangle Land Conservancy if he had any leads. It turns out that TLC had bought some easements around a large cattle farm, and most of the land was in pasture. He sent me the ArcGIS maps of the property, and I quickly realized the property was perfect for one of our nest boxes. 

I then looked at the map a little closer. The layout seemed strangely familiar. The address seemed familiar too. Wait a minute! I knew this property!!!! Of all the farms in Silk Hope, I knew this exact property. . .because I had lived on it!!!

Back in 1997, when I first moved to North Carolina, it was in Silk Hope that I landed. I rented an old rustic cabin on a large farm, and commuted into Carrboro and Chapel Hill for work. It was a magical time for me. I remember being very in touch with the seasons, even the phases of the moon, and all the wildlife sounds on the property. I loved that farm!!! Here's the old cabin as it looks today. 

I spoke with the landowners, who remembered me, and they quickly agreed to host a Barn Owl box. They were particularly pleased with the prospect of owls eating the mice, voles, and cotton rats on the property. Barn Owls are called Barn Owls for a reason. They like to roost and nest in structures where there is plenty of food, and rodents are the main course on the menu.

Modern structures, however, don't always have the right kinds of rafters necessary to support owls. So instead of putting a nest box in one of the barns, we decided to go with our trusted pole mount system. On a chilly day in early December, we loaded up the truck, and took the scenic route out to the Cohen farm in Silk Hope, with the mission of installing Box 12. We quickly decided on an open field. An embedded rock in the ground made this section too dangerous for the farmer to mow, but provided a nice flat spot for a nest box. 

Within minutes, the team was at work. Norm screwed the flange to the base of the box. Ken used his smartphone Apps to assess level ground, and to find the right direction for the nest hole. I placed mulch in the box, to prevent the excess movement of any potential owl eggs. Once the system was ready, Ken did his best Iwo Jima impression.

Box number 12 is fully installed and ready for residents!! This is our first nest box in Chatham County, and represents another opportunity for re-establishing Barn Owls in the Piedmont. We hope to have more boxes up in Chatham soon.

Look closely at the next photograph, and you will see the nest box in the distance. Open pasture plus barn structures equals Club Med for Barn Owls. Hopefully a migrating juvenile will recognize the opportunities here and want to stay.

And no, Barn Owls will not eat your chickens, or your cats for that matter.

All in all it was a special day. Ken made a new friend.

This young calf seemed eager to make new acquaintances.

This beautiful farm in rural Chatham County, with hundreds of acres of open pasture, offers new hope to a very special bird. Maybe one day, if our nesting program is successful, they will rename this community Owl Hope. Let's hope our nest boxes don't prove to be the wrong type of mulberry tree!

Stampede!!!!

I've learned a couple of things in the process of putting up 11 Barn Owl boxes this year. One, when using a tire and concrete to support a pole mount, size really does matter. The Anilorac box may have blown over this summer simply because the tire size was too small. Two, no matter what sized tire is used in the mount, a pole and nest box system is no match for one ton herbivores. Stampede!!!!!!

Soon after we put up Box 10 at Blue Moon Meadows Farm, I received an email. The cows had been using the nest box setup as a scratching post and, well, it didn't work so well. The box lay on the ground only hours after installation. When I went back to investigate, some of the cows looked sheepish about the whole thing. "It wasn't me, I swear!"

Obviously I had to find a better spot for the box somewhere on this farm. Luckily, the cows were separated by a fence from some alpacas. I figured the alpacas would be better stewards of our Barn Owl condominium, and they seemed quite interested in the proposal.

In all honesty, I'm still not sure how to tell an alpaca from a llama. A quick google search reveals that llamas are much larger. In any case, this friendly guy (or gal) seemed cheerful enough, and nowhere near as threatening as those unruly beasts across the fence.

When moving 200 pounds of tire, pole, and nest box, it helps to have a really cool front end loader. Louanne quickly offered her services, and away we went into the alpaca field. The spike on the end of the loader, intended for carrying hay bales, is also an effective weapon against zombies (it was Halloween weekend, after all). 

My friend Ken helped out. He is particularly adept at using iPhone Apps to help with installation. One Compass App helped us orient the box towards the southeast, away from prevailing winds. Another Level App helped us to find flat ground. When installing nest boxes, it's always good to have the coolest farm equipment AND the latest tech gadgetry. 

Here I am (Mark) with the final product. The alpacas had already grown bored, and wanted nothing to do with us or the nest box. Clearly, we had found the right location. We'll have to be more careful with siting the next time we place boxes amongst livestock.

Box 10 is now easily visible from Union Grove Church Road in Orange County. Given the prize habitat, we think the move was worth it. And there isn't a cow or zombie in sight!

Box 11: Green Acres Farm

Green Acres Farm, which is adjacent to Mapleview Farm in western Orange County, is yet another cattle farm with large, open pastures. (Noticing a theme?) It turns out that most large farms in central NC plant monoculture crops, typically corn or soybeans, which are not good habitat for Barn Owls. Cattle farms provide the open space these owls need, and lower grasses in which to trap unsuspecting rodents.

When the Dodson family graciously agreed to host a nest box, it allowed us to have four boxes within a relatively small area. Clustering nest boxes within a close range is believed to increase reproductive success rates in Barn Owls. With two boxes at Mapleview, and another at nearby Blue Moon Meadows, a box on the Dodson's land makes it difficult for migrating owls to ignore the area.

When I first scouted the farm, I was a little concerned that the hayfields might be too high. Like corn, hay, when it gets tall, becomes a deterrent for avian predators, as rodents have too many places to hide. But Norm and I decided that there was enough good habitat around to warrant a box, so we went ahead as planned. My friend Bonnie was there to help us out with site selection.

Tom and Norm had the box up and installed in about 20 minutes. The clouds overhead provided a nice visual backdrop.

Box #11 is fully installed at Green Acres Farm!! Box 12 should be going up in a couple of weeks at an Orange County horse farm. Stay tuned.

Box 10: Blue Moon Meadows Farm

Blue Moon Meadows Farm specializes in pasture raised cattle, free range chicken eggs, and alpaca wool, only ten minutes from downtown Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Run by a mother and daughter team, Louanne and Amanda, the farm sells many of its products, including worms for vermiculture, at the Chapel Hill Farmers Market. The rolling acres of pasture at Blue Moon Meadows just happen to be ideal for Barn Owls.

We arrived on a beautiful fall afternoon, and driving out onto the open pasture, we were quickly greeted by the cows. I'm always amazed at the bravado and curiousity of these large herbivores. Within minutes, they had scoped out the entire situation.

The cows were not the only grazers on this farm. Alpacas and a few llamas also make these fields their home, as do a few friendly donkeys. Everyone wanted to check out the commotion.

I had to get all the animals out of the way, so Tom and Norm wouldn't accidentally smack them with the pole and tire. 

I also had to keep the cows away from the ladders during installation, lest a sudden move topple Tom, Norm, and the nest box to the ground. 

My main strategy was to make funny noises, so the cows would be more interested in me than the other two. A flyswatter would have been handy, too.

Eventually, the installation was a success. The cows thought so, too.

If you squint your eyes, looking out past the llamas and the pond, to the left of the distant juniper, you can see the white speck that is the nest box. This is Barn Owl heaven!

There are also numerous structures on the farm, which can harbor the rodents upon which Barn Owls feed. 

Barn Owls feed almost exclusively on rodents, so livestock and chickens are not under any threat. Because these special owls can eat such large volumes of mice, voles, and rats, they can be very helpful on small farms such as this one. This chicken looks like it can take care of itself anyway.

On the way out, we noticed a scarecrow on the front lawn of the main house. Luckily for us, it wasn't a "scareowl." With any luck, this quaint farm in western Orange county will become a welcome home to a future family of Barn Owls. 

Box #10 is fully installed. Double digits!!!!!

Box 9: Prairie Ridge Ecostation

New Hope Audubon Society serves Orange, Durham, and Chatham Counties in North Carolina. The Piedmont Barn Owl Inititative was conceived primarily to serve those three counties. Today, we made an exception.
Elizabeth Bennett, formerly of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, approached us last April with the idea of putting up a box at Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh. At first, we hesitated, given that the site is in Wake County. Then she offered to pay for the box herself. Mrs. Bennett, already host to a box on private land west of Chapel Hill, simply wouldn't take no for an answer.
Prairie Ridge is actually a very good site for our initiative. For one, the habitat is good, with managed native grasslands surrounded by large cattle pastures. Secondly, the education potential is high, as the site is managed by researchers, and is open to the public. Finally, there is a chance we might encourage our neighboring chapter, Wake Audubon, to take the baton and put up some owl boxes of their own. So we agreed to put box number 9 at Prairie Ridge.

Prairie Ridge is situated near the NC Museum of Art, NC State's football stadium, and the Carl Alwen Schenck Memorial Forest, not far from Wade Avenue. The Reedy Creek Greenway System runs right beside it. Aside from serving as a research center, the site is excellent for general birding and nature exploration.
Tom, Norm, and I arrived on a beautiful Saturday morning in late September. We quickly discovered that native grasses at Prairie Ridge are quite high in autumn, which could make it difficult for future Barn Owls to hunt for rodents. We needed to find a mounting spot with access to mowed trails, lower patches of grasses, and neighboring farm fields, offering alternative hunting opportunities for the owls.

After scouting the area, we decided on a location in the northern section of the ecostation, close to the equipment sheds. Sheds tend to harbor mice and cotton rats, prime food sources for Barn Owls. The location also met all our other needs. It took us only 20 minutes to find level ground and mount the nest box.

Box number 9 is now open for business in Wake County! We hope the investment will pay off in the years to come.

Box Eight Down!

It's been a long summer here in the Piedmont, and to our knowledge, we have yet to attract any owls to our nest boxes. That's OK, because odds are long for getting owls the first season. We knew this would be a long term process.

We suffered a minor setback when box number 8, at Anilorac Farm, went down. I drove by one day and the box appeared to be missing!! After a little investigation, it turned out that the box and pole had merely been knocked over.

The owner of Anilorac suspects the box may have been blown over by a strong wind. When I inspected the site, however, it looked like someone may have lowered the pole and box to the ground. There was no damage to the box.

Local farmers lease the land, so it's possible the box was lowered for some reason unbeknownst to us. In any case, we will re-examine our pole mount system to see if we can't improve on it in cases of wind. We may have to use guy wires to secure boxes located in vulnerable areas. 

When I returned the box to the upright position, I tested the wobble of the tire and pole, and the system seemed pretty secure. The box itself looked a bit pitiful in its dirty state, but the molded plastic has proven itself to be a resilient material.

Boxes 9-12 should be up soon, so stay tuned.

Box 8: Anilorac Farms

Anilorac Farms in southwestern Orange County is distinctive for many reasons. It has been run by the same family since the era of George Washington. It has a cool name (Anilorac is Carolina spelled backwards). It sits along a stretch of road familiar with local cyclists.

Bird lovers are familiar with Anilorac Farms, too. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers nested here in 2011. Dickcissels have been spotted during the past few spring migrations. Warbling Vireos once nested in a large oak on the property. And several grassland species thrive here: Northern Harriers in winter, Eastern Meadowlarks year round, and Bobolinks in early spring. Anilorac is the most likely place to see Grasshopper Sparrow in Orange County.

When I spoke to local biologists about our Barn Owl project, almost all of them mentioned Anilorac as an ideal location. So I approached my friend Bonnie Hauser, a rural activist and director of Orange County Voice. She told me she would introduce me to Charles Snipes, the owner of the farm.

Mr. Snipes, in his 80's, was very interested in helping us out. He was well aware of birdwatchers taking advantage of his avian abundance. "Wherever you want to put a box," he told us, "is ok with me."

Walking the land with Bonnie, I spotted a few ducks. A Northern Shoveler and couple of Hooded Mergansers graced the farm ponds. Tree Swallows hawked insects overhead. A Northern Harrier worked the open land. After some time looking, we settled on a perfect location for a nest box.

The following weekend, Norm and I drove out to Anilorac for the installation of Box #8.  Mr. and Mrs. Snipes chose to stay inside, as it was quite cold out for late March, but Bonnie and her friends Noah and Marilee came for support. On the way out to the site, Norm and I actually flushed two Wilson Snipe from the edge of a pond. The coincidence was uncanny. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Snipes were shapeshifters. . .taking bird form when humans weren't looking. We got to the installation site, and got right to work.

This particular nest box is probably the most likely of the original eight to get Barn Owls. The habitat is spectacular, and Barn Owls reportedly nested in the area as little as a decade ago. There are hundreds of acres of farmland within a two mile radius. And there are several old buildings on the property, which most certainly harbor cotton rats, mice, and voles. We soon had the box up and in place.

The best part about this box is that it can be viewed from Dairyland Road, making it easily accessible to local birders. PLEASE respect the landowners and stay on the road shoulder when viewing. Do not approach the nest box!! Barn Owls, when present, are typically seen at dusk or dawn, as they fly over open fields in search of prey.

Below is the view from the road shoulder. The box is adjacent to a red cedar, approximately 200 yards away. Be careful when viewing from Dairyland Road, as the shoulder is narrow, and drivers are not accustomed to pedestrians in this area.

Box #8 successfully installed!! Anilorac Farms: a refuge for grassland bird species in Orange County. Will that list soon include nesting Barn Owls? Stay tuned to find out.

Box 7: Bennett Property

Back in December, when we were placing our second Barn Owl box at Mason Farm, we were approached by a gentleman who wanted to know where to get one of these boxes for his own property. I politely mentioned that we were placing nest boxes for Barn Owls, which require 25 to 50 acres of open habitat at a minimum, and that he likely would do better with Barred Owl boxes (see previous post). The gentleman replied that he had such open habitat, and that he would pay for the box if necessary. So we exchanged phone numbers, and set a date to walk his land.

I was especially intrigued that the property was adjacent to Cane Creek reservoir, which is close to where we are placing the majority of our boxes in Orange County. The more boxes in an area, the better chances of attracting and sustaining owls. It also turns out that Norm had a connection with this gentleman, prominent attorney Walter Bennett, and his wife, Betsy Bennett, former director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Norm had taught the Bennett's daughter back when he was a science and math teacher at Carolina Friends School. It seemed preordained that Walter would approach us that day.

When I first walked the land, I realized just how lucky we were to place a box there. The property is perfect for Barn Owls!! The Bennetts, inspired by Betsy's stint at Prairie Ridge ecostation in Raleigh, are converting much of their land to native grasses: bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass. Much of the North Carolina Piedmont was once covered by native prairie, perfect habitat for Barn Owls. When Europeans arrived, the native grasses were converted to European and Asian species, which could better support cattle and other livestock. Barn Owls adapted, but several other native grassland species did not. Here was an opportunity to place a nest box in traditional habitat (similar to what can be found at Mason Farm Biological Reserve).

Norm and I arranged to meet the Bennetts on a Sunday in late March, but due to weather, we were forced to move the installment to Saturday. The installation crew was a bit scattered. Norm had forgotten his drill, which we needed to mount the nest box. I had forgotten the nest box altogether, leaving it at Anilorac Farm with box number 8! We went back to get the box, and Walter brought us a drill.

We quickly found a suitable site within the native grasses. The Bennett's dogs were very excited by all the commotion. They spent their time chasing bunnies and cotton rats, while we went about our business, like unloading our pole mount.  Look out below, doggie!!

Within minutes, we had the nest box installed. Aside from the Bennett property itself, Barn Owls would have hundreds of acres of adjacent farm fields to hunt rodents. In terms of Barn Owl real estate, this is a million dollar condominium just ready for the taking. Pictured from left to right are Walter, Norm, and Betsy.

The Bennett nest box illustrates what can happen when local Audubon chapters team up with landowners to assist native wildlife. We hope many more landowners in the Orange, Chatham, and Durham county area will follow. After all, a simple $250 investment can bring effective rodent control, along with the satisfaction of helping out a native species.

Box #7 fully installed!!! Lucky number 7. Any Barn Owls that take up residence in this box are lucky indeed.

What's in a Name?

Before I go further with this blog, I have to clear up a very common misunderstanding. That owl you heard tonight in the nearby forest, or saw in the neighborhood, or had nesting in the back yard, was NOT a Barn Owl. I'd bet good money on it.

That's because, in the North Carolina Piedmont, approximately 9 out of 10 Barn Owl observations are cases of mistaken identity. OK, I made that number up. It's probably 95 out of 100. My friend Nate Swick, a reviewer for the citizen science website e-bird, sometimes gets Barn Owl "sightings" posted for our area. Invariably, these observations turn out to be made by inexperienced birders, or by individuals without corroborating evidence. The fact is, real Barn Owl sightings in the Triangle are exceedingly rare. Neither Nate nor I have EVER seen a Barn Owl in our home counties.

The funny thing is, the Barn Owl is so very distinctive, it couldn't possibly be mistaken for any other bird, (except perhaps for the Snowy Owl, a far northern species). They are white owls!!! Here's a photo of the European subspecies, Tyto alba alba, which is virtually identical to its American cousin. (Borrowed from Wikipedia, where the photo is in the public domain).

How could this bird be confused with anything else?? The answer most likely lies in the common English name, and an alarming accident in alliteration. The moniker "Barn Owl" sounds a heck of a lot like "Barred Owl." Here's what the Barred Owl looks like (also borrowed from Wikipedia):

This particular Barred Owl is much paler than the birds we have around here, and yet has vastly different coloration and patterning than the Barn Owl. The Barred Owl, too, is a bird of forests and swamps, whereas the Barn Owl is a bird of open prairies and farmlands. When discerning the two names in your head, remember that Barred Owls have bars or barring on them (those brown streaks), whereas Barn Owls do not. Also, you will rarely see Barred Owls hanging out in old barns.

There are other causes for confusion as well. The Barn Owl has a call that sounds like a terrifying screech. The Barred Owl has a call that is most certainly not a screech, but rather a more stereotypical hoot. Trained ears could never mistake those two calls. But there's a third owl in our area, the Eastern Screech-owl, that looks like this (once again, from Wikipedia):

There are actually two morphs of this Screech-owl: a reddish one, and a grey one. They are tiny owls, much smaller than the Barn Owl. But because Barn Owls screech, and the Eastern Screech-owl has the word "screech" in its name, there is often confusion. To make matters worse, the Eastern Screech-Owl rarely screeches at all. It typically makes a sound similar to a neighing horse, or another sound that is more of a descending trill. Listen for the Eastern Screech-owl in woodland areas, where it may venture out into the open at dusk.

So the Screech-owl doesn't often screech (only when agitated, actually). The Barred Owl has barring, and doesn't live in barns. Is there another owl that could be confused for the Barn Owl? Well, not really. However, the last of the four historic owls in our area can eat Barn Owls. Yeah, that's right, I said EAT. Behold the apex avian predator of the night, the Great Horned Owl (borrowed this time from National Geographic):

The Great Horned Owl is a massive bird, and a stealthy hunter, eating everything from rabbits to house cats to other owls. Biologists believe that increases in Great Horned Owl populations, which coincide with regeneration of forests in the Eastern US, may be contributing to decreases in Barn Owl numbers. If Barn Owls find themselves too close to a forest edge, they risk ambush from these large nocturnal hunters. The call of the Great Horned Owl is a subdued hoot, as if to say "I'm the biggest predator around. . .I don't need to announce my presence to anyone."

Some biologists believe Barn Owls are now seeking larger fields in which to hunt, so as to avoid being killed by the forest dwelling Great Horned. In eastern North Carolina, Barn Owls are now found in very large agricultural fields, with few trees in sight. In the Triangle area, we place our nest boxes in large open areas, with some distance from forest edges, especially where Barn Owls might be at risk.

That brings us back to our identification issue. Unless you have very large agricultural fields in your back yard (25 acres at minimum, but more likely 50 to 100 or more), you are likely not seeing or hearing Barn Owls. Learn to identify the three more common owls described, both by sight and by sound.

If you happen to be near one of our nest boxes at dawn or dusk, and you see a white owl working the field nearby, take good field notes. Get a photo if you can. Listen for the distinctive screech call of the Barn Owl, and make sure the screech is not coming from another critter (like a mammal). Then contact us at newhopeaudubon.org as soon as possible. We may be skeptical at first. Then, we might just be ecstatic.