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.