Years ago I hung an owl box on the big maple tree in my yard. It remained owless for years. In the fall of 2023 I moved the box & by the spring of 2024 I had my first pair of nesting owls. THIS is a guide to hanging an owl box properly.
I suddenly became very motivated to find a new place for my owl box when a) the tree it had been taking up space on was cut down and b) I heard a screech owl in my neighbourhood late one summer night.
A screech owl, as you can possibly hear, sounds like a whinnying horse. Now that you know what it sounds like, one evening you will hear it and know immediately that it's a screech owl.
The night I heard that sound in my backyard I immediately started a "Hey Owls, come live at my house" campaign and rehung the owl box paying very close attention to doing everything right.
I put it 13' off the ground, facing S/E, and I pruned away any branches hanging in front of the box opening so the owl has a clear path.
By late winter, Snacks arrived.
Now that you're motivated and realize it is indeed possible to attract an owl with an owl box, even after a decade, read this guide so you do it right.
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Table of Contents
Where To Hang The Nesting Box
- Hang the box from 10 - 30 feet high.*
- The best direction for it to face is South or East (they'll bask in the sun)
- The box can hang facing any direction except North.
- The box must have a clear flight path to it, trim a few branches if you have to.
- HOWEVER, branches right around the owl box opening is a great thing. The owls will use them to hop onto before starting their rounds at dusk and that's where the young will literally learn how to spread their wings and fly.
* I have NO idea how you'd get it hung 30 feet high but that's an option for you if say, your legs are 20 feet long.
When To Do It
- Nesting and coupling takes place in late winter/early spring. Beginning in February or March male owls will start looking for a maternity home for his lady friend.
- Owls are always looking for roosts and houses to stop and rest in even if they don't live there. Ergo, the best time to hang your owl box is as soon as you get it.
Tips
- Stuff a couple of handfuls of dry leaves or pine shavings into the bottom of the box before hanging it. Screech owls don't "make" their own nest, so it needs to be pre-nested. Owls prefer home births. And therefore need a comfy home.
- If you don't have a tree you can hang the box on a pole.
- Make sure the box is hanging level or tipped forward a tiny bit from the top. That way when it rains, water won't get into the box.
- At the end of each season or early in the new year, place another handful of leaves into the nesting box as new nesting material for the owls.
Owls are excellent rodent control but if you have serious mouse issues in your house, my mouse control post is probably going to be more helpful.
Screech Owl Facts
- Screech owls are tiny by owl standards. They're the same height as a starling, but rotunder.
- The noise Screech owls make sounds more like a horse whinny like the one you heard at the beginning of this post. They don't actually screech so don't worry about that.
- Wondering if you have screech owls around you? You probably do. They live across most of North America.
- Owls even have the added distinction of barfing up tiny bones after their dinner so they're pest control and Halloween decoration providers all rolled into one. Owls regurgitate "pellets" full of undigestible material they've eaten. Like mouse bones. If you find a pellet and pull it apart you can tell exactly what the owl has eaten.
You can also build your own Screech Owl house with these free plans.
Snacks did indeed bring a bride to my owl house.
They had an owlet, raised and fledged him. They still use the owl box as their daytime home and will probably do so for the rest of their lives.
And THAT is what can happen if you properly hang a screech owl nesting box.
Do it now so it's ready for action in the late winter/early spring.
Mike
Hi. Just purchased a box and the maker says that hanging on a tree will mean squirrels will probably overtake it. Is that true?
Thanks,
Mike
Karen
Hi Mike. I can only speak from my experience but I've never had an issue with squirrels in mine. ~ karen!
Mike
Thanks Karen, good to hear. I’m gonna give it a shot.
Lori Rosen
Hi Mike, The squirrels IMMEDIATELY Moved into my owl house! In Southwestern VA I think it’s better to wait until later in the season according to my owl house mfg. I’m trying again in late November once the stupid, freeloading squirrel has made his own nest!
Hettie
Thanks, so much, Karen! I hope to hang an owl box in an enormous old cedar that was damaged in the derecho. (We also lost our home, too.) Now, I know how to do it. :)
Karen
It's an A+ hobby. ~ karen!
Wayne P Kivi
Hi, I just finished reading (more like devouring) all the info about your chicken coop and the girls. I'm going to try once again to talk my wife into getting some chickens and building a shed. I'm probably too old to take on this size venture and the "powers that be" wouldn't allow it in our beautiful and historic Cape Cod location. I must admit that I look forward to seeing your blog show up in my email every week and have spread the word about this great site.
Thank you for the info and the laughs.
Karen
Chickens are delightful! ~ karen
Mark Bauer
A common problem is squirrels moving in before the owls get a chance to make it their home. In Texas, fortunately, the owls usually move in first in mid-winter and the squirrels move in after the owl babies have fledged.
Here's another solution I found that helps with squirrels moving into our owl houses:
Karen
LOL. Sometimes it's the most logical solutions isn't it? 😆 ~ karen!
Teresa
8 years ago, my sister was declattering my back porch throwing out my ceramic owls. She reached up to throw out my stuffed owl, it was a real one. He flew away and came right back. He's been there ever since he's a sweetheart, Usually comes in May for a couple days and then leaves. I need to make him a box.
Karen
You're kidding? That's amazing! ~ karen
Tetesa
I was walking to the store a couple months ago. He, I think flew up on the fence
I talked to him. I turned around to turn my camera on. and he had flown away. Are screech Owls all that friendly?. A friend just had one sitting on there porch. He didn't fly away either.
Karen
No idea! So far none have even come into view for me so they seem standoffish if you ask me. ;) ~ karen!
Mark Bauer
We had a family (or families) of screech owls visit our backyard owl houses for over 10 years here in Texas. We also got to watch the parents teach the fledglings not only to fly but how to hunt also. The juveniles are VERY curious about humans and we could always count on four or five little ones close by watching us as we had a glass of wine at the end of the day in the backyard.
Sadly, as they get older, the wiser owls get less and less curious of human activity.
Tracey
Your owl(s) saga has keep me entertained all year— just a delight to see them move in and do their thing 🦉
Kristina
I had a barn owl box on my barn for 20 years, 'til I had to take it down to comply with food safety regulations (I am a walnut farmer, and have a processing plant in the barn). I MISS THEM SO MUCH NOW. I had a nesting pair every year, and it was so fun to watch them come and go and eventually every year watch them take their fleglings out on the little ledge on the front of the box at dusk on a summer evening and teach them how to fly. Plus, my kids and their friends spent endless hours dissecting owl pellets.
Karen
I play on hoarding all the pellets for myself if I get any. Either that or handing them around for fun during Thanksgiving dinner. That's too bad. If the owl had nested in a tree by the building I wonder if would still be breaking safety regulations? ~ karen!
Lynn
Ooh that’s so cool Karen. My brother gets Owls nesting at his farm on a regular basis, love the pictures sister in-law sends my way. Owls built their own nest. Magnificent birds Owls.
Kat
Hey Karen, you might get owls to move in if you paint the owl house a colour from the cool spectrum. That’s what I read anyway. Dull greens, blues or purple. Owls apparently don’t go for white, too noticeable; they don’t want prey to know they’re around. I only know this after doing some research because I want to build a birdhouse this fall, and was thinking of decorating it with wild colours and designs to look so cool in my garden but that was a bust because birds don’t want cool, they want subtle; they’d prefer their houses to mostly blend in to their environment; they don’t want to be noticed, especially when there are eggs inside.
Fonya
Love this idea! Now, if you can just get me some pointers on my bat box, we'd be solid! LOL.