Eco Owl Boxes

If you are not superstitious, you will welcome any owl on your roof, hunting small rodents and other delicious creatures that are swallowed whole.  Hunting takes place at night, and although they have good eyesight, they rely mostly on their sense of hearing to locate their prey. Their ears, set one higher than the other, helps them to pinpoint sound. The left ear captures sounds from below while the right ear receives sounds from above.

These beautiful creatures provide us with an environmental friendlier alternative to pest control.  Instead of making use of  harmful pesticides to manage rodent and pest infestations, home owners are encouraged to put up owl nesting boxes to increase the number of owls in the area, and reduce the numbers of pests in the garden.

If you are considering an location for your own owl box these suggestions may be helpful. 
Owl's do not necessarily hunt close to their owl box and may rather adopt a box located in a area that is away from human activity, roads and railways where food supply is dependable. Place the box facing an open area that is not to close to dense trees.  Admittedly, it may be difficult to attract an owl to adopt a box.  If you need a little help, try attracting garden friendly insect, worms, frogs.

Under normal circumstances barn owls lay about 5 to 6 eggs at 2-3 day intervals. Each egg hatches after about 31 days incubation; so by the time the last egg hatches the eldest owlet could be three weeks old. The owlets do not fly very well at first and will sit and play close to the ground. A truly unforgettable experience to watch!

Once owls have bred in a box they will continue to use it year after year and will remain in the vicinity in order to protect their territory.