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.

Box 6: Brumley Tract

The Brumley Tract is a 613 acre Orange County property recently purchased by the Triangle Land Conservancy. Adjacent to Duke Forest, the Brumley Tract offers future outdoor recreational opportunities for residents of Chapel Hill and Durham, while providing further protection from encroaching development. With plenty of open grasslands, surrounded by hundreds of acres of hardwood forest, the Brumley Tract is the perfect site for a Barn Owl nest box. Proximity to existing nest boxes at Blackwood and Maple View Farms makes the Brumley property even more valuable to our program.

Bo Howes, current vice-president of New Hope Audubon, just happens to be on staff at Triangle Land Conservancy, a relationship we plan to exploit heavily. He gladly agreed to meet us early on Sunday morning to assist with our Brumley installation. The only stipulation. . .we had to be done before the ACC Championship Game. Carolina would be playing Miami for the basketball title, and priorities are priorities. So we got right to work.

Needless to say, this is the fun part of the installation process. Making the pole mount and assembling the box can be tedious. The logistics of working with public and private landowners takes countless emails and phone calls. When it comes time to actually install a box, spirits are usually high. We pile everything into Norm's Owlmobile (a Toyota Tundra) and go four wheelin' to some pretty cool locations.

It took us minutes to find level ground, and I got busy putting hardwood mulch into the box. Mulch keeps any eggs from rolling about in the box, since Barn Owls don't spend any time fixing up their nesting sites. They prefer their apartments to be fully furnished ahead of time.

Bo and Norm had the glamorous duty of mounting the box to the flange. Installation is fairly easy once you know what you are doing. Facing the box away from prevailing winds is critical, which in this area means aiming the entrance towards the southeast.

Nest box #6 successfully installed!! Here's the finished product, looking out over an open field.

There is also a powerline easement nearby, offering plenty of additional habitat. Powerline easements are renowned for being loaded with cotton rats, mice, and voles. Because Barn Owls hunt low off the ground, there is no risk of the owls becoming ensnared in the powerlines.

The Brumley Tract is not yet open to the public, but it is now open to Barn Owls.

Box 5: Blackwood Farm

Blackwood Farm is a beautiful historic property just north of Chapel Hill on Highway 86. Purchased by Orange County in 2001, the farm is slated to become a rural park, complete with trails, an educational center, and an informal playing field. There is also talk of managing sections of the property for native grasses, similar to what land managers are doing at nearby Mason Farm. With several old wooden structures on site, including a barn, and many acres of open fields, Blackwood Farm is a highly suitable location for Barn Owls.

On a Saturday morning in mid-March, we met with Rich Shaw, Land Conservation Manager for Orange County and a champion of our nest box program from the beginning. We had originally planned on putting a nest box in the barn itself, which requires an entirely different setup, including the removal of a small section of siding. Because the architecture of the barn is of historical significance, Rich determined that we should probably leave the barn alone. So we decided to go with our trusted pole mount system in an adjacent field. After searching for a bit, Norm found a flat spot for the nest box.

The only problem was, we had only brought one ladder for the installation!! So we backed the bed of the truck up, and I was able to lift the box up from the tailgate. After securing the pole's flange to the base of the box, we faced the box to the southeast, out onto the open fields. Each time we install a box, we get a little more efficient with our time, even when we forget something like a ladder.

Nest box #5 successfully installed!!! Like the boxes at Mason Farm, this one will be fairly accessible to the public, as part of New Hope Audubon's educational mission. If you find these nest boxes on public lands, please don't disturb them!

There are no guarantees that any of these boxes will be successful at attracting Barn Owls. It is much easier to rehabilitate a population when there are already Barn Owls in the area. Blackwood Farm, however, offers plenty of opportunities for young owls looking for a territory, as well as people looking to learn more about their environment.

Look carefully, wayyyy past the pond and towards the farthest treeline in the distance, and you will see the white speck that is the nest box. If you live in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, or Durham, be sure to get out and enjoy Blackwood Farm. It's a real Orange County treasure.

Creating Our Pole Mount System

Barn Owl nest boxes need to be ten feet or more off the ground. When installing a box in an open field, this fact can present some logistical problems. Most poles at the hardware store are exactly ten feet long, or at longer lengths that require costly cutting. Poles placed in the ground need a hole of two feet or more, making a ten foot pole potentially unviable. Installing poles on site could take a couple of hours or more.
One of our volunteer carpenters, Robin, suggested using 1 1/2 inch diameter gas pipe mounted in a concrete-filled tire as a nest box support. A standard ten foot section of pipe from Lowes would then stand exactly ten feet tall. We decided to try that system at Mason Farm, and it worked perfectly. The piping was solid, and there was little sway due to the weight of the concrete.  So we decided that we would use this system for all 25 of our nest boxes.
One downside to using this system is that it takes time to set ten feet of pipe in concrete. The pipe-in-tire setup is also extremely heavy, and must be maneuvered carefully for transport. There are also unforseen consequences of using old tires. Worn steel belted radials, for instance, have a tendency to slice a finger open if given the opportunity (a fact that I learned first hand).
The upsides to using this setup, though, far outweigh the downsides. The tire setup is mobile, allowing nest boxes to be moved when necessary, as for a prescribed burn. The system can also be assembled at a neutral site, which means a faster installation once in the field. The boxes can be brought down easily for cleaning. And in the case of a hurricane, which is not an uncommon event in this part of the country, the boxes can be brought down entirely to escape the wind.
On our first two "pole workdays," we set aside two to three hours, with two to four volunteers present. Per Robin's original instructions, we first lay a piece of plywood on flat ground. We then lay one or two tires down, with tar paper placed at the bottom of the holes to prevent wet concrete from leaking out. We then hammered short lengths of 2X4 into the ground around the tires.

Next we used wood screws to place buttresses at an angle, to help stabilize the pipe. Two buttresses per tire allows a pole or pipe to be fully supported at a right angle. 

A 1 1/2 inch diameter pipe was then secured to the buttresses using clamps. Pipe can be very heavy and cumbersome, but is very solid once fixed in place. One inch pipe is also OK to use, but be sure to get the proper sized flange for attachment to the nest box.

Next we mixed the concrete: two 80lb bags per tire. That seemed like a lot of concrete, but the weight of the tire is what gives the pole its stability.

Packing the concrete into the tire is fairly rewarding. Once filled, the concrete is evened out and smoothed. 

We managed to finish two poles this weekend in two hours, with four people. With some practice, we should be able to finish in half the time. If you have some carpentery or handyman skills, and would like to help us mix concrete and set the poles, please let us know.

After 24 hours, the mounts are be ready to go. We will be using these poles to install boxes 5 and 6 this weekend!!

Box 3 and 4: Maple View Farm

There are few places in central North Carolina as special as Maple View Farm. As producers of local milk and ice cream, the picturesque dairy is a large part of the food culture in Chapel Hill, Durham, and surrounding areas. One of the more popular cycling routes in the Triangle involves riding out Dairyland Road, where a refueling stop for ice cream is a welcome reward. In front of the ice cream store, a porch with rocking chairs welcomes visitors from all around, with vistas of open fields and the dairy itself. A trip to Maple View Farm reminds us about what is important: honest food, community, and the simple pleasures of the outdoors.

It turns out, Maple View Farm is also excellent habitat for Barn Owls. Aside from the many rolling fields, many of which are not planted every year, the pastures used by the dairy cows offer many opportunities for hunting owls. What's more, Maple View recently opened a new Agricultural Center, where they hold educational workshops related to farming and sustainability.

I approached Allison Nichols, who runs several aspects of the Maple View business, and told her about the Barn Owl Initiative. I also mentioned the use of Barn Owls as part of an Integrated Pest Management system, which benefits owls and landowners alike. We agreed that the Agricultural Center was the perfect place to model this system for the local farming community. We decided to start with two nest boxes, one near the Agriculture Center itself, and one closer to the dairy and ice cream store.

It had been quite a while since we erected the first pair of boxes at Mason Farm, back in December. For one, we needed time to develop new pole mounts. Robin and Norm devised a system to place ten foot gas pipe in concrete within a small tire. Once the concrete was dry, the mounts were ready to go.

On a Sunday afternoon in early March, we made arrangements to meet at the farm and put up both boxes. Once we found an appropriate spot behind the Agricultural Center, we had the first box up in about an hour. The cows thought it quite an amusing scene.

This particular box (Box #3) holds a lot of promise. It is near the top of a hill, looking out over hundreds of acres of perfect Barn Owl habitat. It is also within several hundred feet of the Agricultural Center's education building, which lends itself to all sorts of possibilities. We made sure to aim the box away from prevailing winds, and towards the southeast, so the summer sun won't beat down on any inhabitants.

With the first Maple View box installed, we moved to the other side of the dairy, where we had to cross through an electric fence to get onto the pasture itself. I realized that my original site selection was not optimal, and we decided on an alternative. I wanted to be sure the final location was visible from the front porch of the ice cream store, and it was. The cows soon discovered us milling around, and decided to come investigate.

One curious cow thought there might be an owl inside the box, and came closer to inspect. No luck. Interestingly enough, Barn Owls and livestock get along quite well. Since the owls mainly eat rodents, there is no reason to fear them eating chickens, or attacking larger animals like a cow. 

Before long, we had the second Maple View box up, again facing to the southeast. Along the treeline of this photo, you can see the ice cream store. Both boxes are visible from the front porch, though the second one can easily be seen with the naked eye. 

Initiative Boxes #3 and #4 are in place!!! How amazing would it be to have Barn Owls take up residence in these boxes? Imagine sitting on the front porch of the ice cream shop on a warm summer evening, and seeing a ghostly white owl or two hunting the edges of the corn fields! It may take some time, but our fingers are crossed.

Barn Owls in the Everglades

In early February, I was down in southwest Florida with family, where we had a house rental on Sanibel island. If you've ever been to Sanibel, you know that there is very little incentive to actually leave the island. Aside from the bird viewing opportunities (including my lifer Short-tailed Hawk!), there is much cycling, shelling, and fishing to be had. I spent much of my time trying to catch a snook, to no avail.

Mid-week, I did actually leave the island, but it was for two good reasons. One, I wanted to try to find my lifer Fulvous Whistling-Duck, which could only be found on the mainland. Two, I wanted to find some Barn Owls, which have some known roosting sites south of Lake Okeechobee in winter. 

I did find the elusive duck. More exciting for me, though, was coming across not only a Barn Owl roost site, but several nest boxes identical to our own. The Barn Owl Box Company, and Mark Browning, have supplied nest boxes to the Everglades Agricultural Area in recent years, for installation in sugar cane fields, where the owls have been effective in controlling rodent populations. The Barn Owls, in return, are thriving.

The Everglades Agricultural Lands are mostly to blame for the ecological degradation in the Everglades as a whole. The "river of grass" that once flowed from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay has largely been diverted by dikes and canals, which allows the surprisingly rich soil to be used for sugar cane production. There are few stands of Bald Cypress in this region, which runs on for many, many miles. Only canals and a seemingly desolate landscape are to be found here.

But nature has a way of adapting to insult and degradation. I saw the man in this photo pull a massive bowfin out of the canal. A small ribbon snake basked nearby. Tree swallows swarmed in great numbers overhead. This place was very alive, if you knew where to look. In the seeming barren landscape, every mile or two, were Barn Owl boxes. 

Processing plants belched yellow smoke in the air, but the nest boxes stood proud, undeterred. And these Barn Owl boxes had been subjected to the harshest of environments. Extreme heat and sun. Humidity nearing 100%. The occasional tropical storm. I can't imagine any of our boxes in North Carolina looking quite as weathered as this one.

I was probably trespassing, but I had to see if there was an owl in one of these boxes. As I approached, I heard a terrifying hissing sound, as if a writhing ball of venomous asps had been dropped into Indiana Jones' bed. Yep, Barn Owl!! I stepped back, and took a photo with my 200mm lens. Look closely and you'll see the owl inside.

I took from this encounter many lessons. One, never mess with a defensive Barn Owl. Two, the owls like these boxes, even if they are placed in the most inhospitable places. And finally, the boxes themselves really are indestructible. We made the right choice.

Audubon Magazine: Safe Alternatives to Pest Control

A timely article was published in a recent Audubon Magazine (January/February 2013) on Barn Owls and pest management. The story gives a fantastic overview of rodenticides, when they are useful and when they are destructive. It also explores using Barn Owls as natural rodent control. This article will be part of any educational materials we develop for the Piedmont Barn Owl Initiative.

Box 2: Mason Farm Biological Preserve

We decided to put up Box #2 on a warm day in mid-December. North Carolina can be strange like that. . .cold one day, warm the next. My friend Nick and I had spent the morning looking for winter specialties, including Purple Finches, in short-sleeved shirts.

When Norm called to say they had the pole mount ready, we confirmed the meeting time late in the afternoon. The only problem was, we needed one more person. I turned to Nick, and he gladly volunteered his time.

Nick was the perfect person to help us out. Not only did he have a strong back, he had experience working with Barn Owls in Virginia as a Forestry student. With his input, we chose the most appropriate site for the second box.

The area we chose is covered in blackberry, briars, and poison ivy during warmer months. At this time of year, it's mostly matted grass, with small depressions left over from sleeping White-tailed Deer. It was in just such a depression that we placed the pole mount.

Nick was so enthusiastic that he took on the role of elevating the box. Robin is seen here securing the metal flange to the board attached to the bottom of the box. One wrong move, and the whole thing comes toppling over. Hardwood mulch placed inside the box can make it difficult to center.

Learning from our mistakes with Box #1, we were able to install the second box in half the time. Barn Owl Box #2 in place!! Pictured from left: Nick, Robin, and Mark.

Look for Box #2 as you make the bend at the end of the willows at Mason Farm. It should be visible year round from the trail. The entrance hole to the box can be seen from the trail leading to the woods, looking back to the northeast. Please do not disturb the nest box!
As we finished cleaning up, we were approached by a local landowner who lives in southwestern Orange County, precisely where we were targeting some of our future nest boxes. He offered to buy one himself if we would install it. This project seems blessed from the start.

Box 1: Mason Farm Biological Preserve

Barn Owls disperse not long after fledging, and head south to places like Florida in winter. In early spring, they begin to move north again. It is during this northward migration that young Barn Owls are actively seeking real estate.

A first year Barn Owl will generally look for two things when seeking a territory: a steady food supply, and a safe roosting and nesting spot. Because Barn Owls are short lived (most that survive to adulthood only live a few years), they can breed relatively quickly, and prolifically at that. Eight owlets or more are not uncommon. So the drive to find a mate and a safe nesting spot, with an adequate supply of rodents nearby, is pretty strong.

The hunting behavior of Barn Owls, and their preference for small mammals, dictates that they will seek open farmland or prairie sites. Historically, silos and old barns were adequate roosts and nesting sites, but those structures are quickly becoming a thing of the past in central North Carolina. Old trees with hollow cavities are almost non-existent in the Eastern US, so Barn Owls are almost completely dependant on humans for providing safe nesting structures. Barn Owl boxes are an effective alternative to buildings where wooden structures are no longer viable.

The nest boxes we use at New Hope Audubon are designed to be very attractive to Barn Owls. The large nest hole is easily discerned by a Barn Owl in flight, even at night. Boxes that are discovered are soon explored, improving the odds that a Barn Owl will move in and stay. Once an owl is actively using the box as a roost, it may soon look for a mate.

New Hope Audubon purchased eight boxes from the Barn Owl Box Company in November 2012, as Phase One of our goal for 25 boxes by 2015. Sites were scouted for appropriate habitat, accessibility, and educational opportunity. In the three county area covered by the New Hope Audubon local chapter, three areas were considered optimal for Barn Owl restoration: southwestern Orange County, north central Chatham County, and northern Durham County. Each of these areas have plenty of open farmland and protected land easements.

Our premier location, however, is considered outside of these three focus areas. Mason Farm Biological Preserve, in Chapel Hill, has long been revered as a birdwatching hotspot in the Triangle. Associated with both the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Botanical Garden, Mason Farm is a biological laboratory with great educational appeal. With large, open, grassy fields, and active land management, Mason Farm has perfect habitat, with the added benefit of easy accessibility. So we decided to put two boxes there, with the blessing of land manager Johnny Randall.

On a Sunday in December, Robin, Tom, Norm, and Mark worked on assembling the first of the two Mason Farm boxes. It took a while to figure out the directions, but the box assembly itself wasn't too difficult. What did become a challenge was the system of mounting the box to a pole. Robin had two volleyball net poles, set in tires filled with concrete, that were exactly ten feet high, the recommended height for Barn Owl boxes. So with Robin's carpentery skills, we devised a mounting system involving a short cut of a 2x8 piece of board and a flange. The system worked so well that we decided to use it in all future mountings.

Having a large diameter pole mounted in a tire has several advantages when installing a nest box. For one, there is no need to auger a hole in the ground on site. Secondly, the large diameter of the pole is very sturdy in the wind, and the tire itself provides plenty of stability. Thirdly, the pole can be brought to ground level when the time comes to clean the boxes, which can be done without a ladder. And finally, in the case of a North Carolina hurricane, boxes can be moved or repositioned, if necessary. In places where land management requires frequent burning, the boxes can simply be rolled out of danger.

The downside to having a pole mounted in a tire is that it is quite unwieldy to transport. Getting the pole into a pickup truck is no easy chore, involving ramps and the like, and a rolling tire can quickly become a hazzard. After about two hours of figuring out our system, though, we had the first pole in Norm's truck, ready to go. We were at Mason Farm just before dusk.

After gaining access to the gate, we drove out into the first large field you see if you were to keep going straight from the entrance. We unloaded the pole and tire, which was the most dangerous part of the whole operation, for obvious reasons. Once we found a level spot in the grass, we began work to attach the nest box to the metal flange.

Next we filled the box with hardwood mulch, which prevents any Barn Owl eggs from rolling around and becoming damaged. With the 2x8 board underneath, and the mulch inside, the lightweight owl box now weighed about 30 pounds or more. We had to be very careful when securing the final screws to the base of the box, lest the whole thing come crashing down on Norm's head.

Here's our victory pose. Box One fully installed!! The Piedmont Barn Owl Initiative is finally off to a start. Pictured left to right: Robin, Norm, and Mark.

Here's Barn Owl Box #1 at dusk in the first field at Mason Farm. One day, perhaps, there will be a pair of Barn Owls working this field, honing in on the ubiquitous cotton rats to feed their baby owlets.