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.
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