Well, we made a few new bird boxes last winter, including an Owl box. This ended up a heavy, awkward thing, almost a two-man lift and hard to handle. The basic design was one I found here
http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/factsheets
I painted the box with water-based preservative, but only outside.
I had a tree selected, a majestic Oak tree on the edge of a field. It overlooks the orchard, and is in the boundary hedge to the west of our land. It has an open area of main trunk about 10 metres up. The instructions about siting the box were adamant that it had to face East, and this open part did just that.
Fortunately, Pete visited us in early spring, and amongst many other tasks, he helped get the box into position. We wanted it as high as possible, so ended up balancing a ladder, fully extended, on the back of the quad! It was quite simple to fix - we just used a couple of heavy duty 6 inch wood-screws - the sort with a hex head that get driven in with the battery drill. The trunk sloped naturally, so the box ended up at about 45 degrees, and the entrance hole at the end was roughly vertical.
The last thing Pete did before we hoisted the box up, was to fill it with dry bark bits, and dry leaves from the floor of the log store. He filled it right up, there was even some grass waving about in the entrance. He muttered that "You have to give them something to do!" when I asked him why he was filling the box!
We dismantled all the ladders, and basically forgot the nest box was there. The dark green paint made it blend in well with the dark trunk, although it is quite obvious in the morning sun.
It was sometime in May on a wet and gloomy afternoon, when we got back from some shopping. As I unloaded the car, I glanced over at the nest box, about 60 or so metres away, and noticed something light coloured, filling the box entrance. On looking closer, I thought I had imagined it, as there was nothing there. The wisps of grass had gone, though.
Alerted, we kept looking at the box, and were rewarded by the occasional sight of "Tim the Tawny"! Gradually, he has become accustomed to our comings and goings, and now he sits in the box entrance most days, for hours on end. He sometimes sleeps with his head under his wing, but usually is apparently watching, although he does seem to have his eyes screwed up.
He (or she!) is quite vocal at night, and now we often hear the characteristic "Hoo Hoo" noises. It seems there are several other Tawnies in the area and there are often quite lengthy exchanges. Elliot can mimic these noises convincingly, and we have listened to some hilarious conversations between him and several owls.
An unplanned result of Tim's occupation of the box is a supply of pellets in the grass below. This provided some hours of fun, and some learning. Here's a happy grandchild busy with the tweezers!
