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.