Barred Owl Nest Box Build

[@FumblingwithFlowers]

This video was so helpful to us. We didn't know how to hang an eastern screech owl box to a skinny tree and this method worked perfectly. We even got a screech owl checking it out very soon after we put it up here in NJ in February. Happy bird watching everybody!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much! Hope you have lots of luck with your owls!😊

[@user-wj2zv1vd8y]

This is exciting to watch. I'm now considering putting up a box to help the local barred owls.

[@ShakespeareCafe]

I built one in California and no owl ever moved in but my bluebird nest boxes were wildly successful and the Western Bluebird family of five overwintered in the owl box, compared to their tiny nest box it was a veritable mansion.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Ahh! Very interesting. Maybe owls will eventually move in. Did you put any wood chips in the bottom of the house?

[@TupeloHoney6104]

Thank you for a great explanation on your build. I have a bunch of wine crates I need to recycle. I think the wood is the perfect thickness. I'm going to give it a shot. I like the way you attached it to the tree. I hear great horned owls hunting the mice on my roof at night. So hopefully, I'll get some to nest.

[@gatormike1434]

Very well thought out and helpful video. Thanks, and good luck. 5/12/23

[@brendanflood1261]

Best explained video i have seen thank you

[@scottandersen420]

Great ideas. I’m in Iowa and have lots of barred owls. I’m going to help them out and build your owl house. Nice video. Thanks

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Scott, It’s a fun project although it may take time to get the Barred Owls to use it. We have had a couple Goshawks nesting nearby for last two years and I think they drive the Barred Owls out of the area during nesting season but I’m not sure about that. I don’t think I have any owls in my box yet and I wish I could have hung it higher but don’t really have the means to get up 20+ feet! Anyhow good luck with your efforts!

[@VagoniusThicket]

Needs a balcony for young to not fall out .

[@MegsCarpentry-lovedogs]

Thanks for the info as well as the measurements of the box, and options to make it bigger for more babies to live comfortably. This will be my next project so great timing coming across your well produced video. Glad you mentioned about the little ladder needed for the babies to get up to the entrance hole. Some video's on Owl homes forget to mention how important the inside laddar arrangiment is needed. It always is quite a thinking planning task to get these huge owl nesting boxes up 14-20 feet. Thanks for mentioning a few options. I like your idea. The broom handle perch is quite smart! I have lots of old broom handles so I will be following your lead. Thank you for a very good production. The time to make the video and edit is is quite a feat in itself, let alone to also make the owl nest box. Cheers from Eastern Canada...stay safe!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much Meg! I hoped the video might help to clarify some things about box design and build. And I wanted to find another option to hanging the box. I’ll be putting up another video soon about hanging the box. Not saying this is the ultimate or best design but I just wanted to combine various features of some of the plans online. I don’t have any owls in mine yet but it can take several years to get them. Anyhow, good luck for your build and have fun with it. I was interested to see your site and your dog Casie that was 17.6 years old. What is your secret to your dogs long life? Any special diet? Anyhow, all the best from mid Canada.

[@hellotinashe]

I love the design of yours. I have zero experience in woodworking but my husband has tools and experience. I’m hoping to make a box this year and your video really helps. Also good to know Canadian nesting patterns so thanks for sharing. I’ll have all summer to build a cute box :)

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much for your comments and I hope you have fun building your new box.

[@VagoniusThicket]

They need a balcony to come out and not fall .

[@radusodehnal8623]

Prospěšná práce. 👋🌹❤️🇨🇿

[@PapajosTraders]

Nice build, interested if and when you get any renters.........

[@nikkirhombus0fterror615]

Loved this! I'm a huge owl fan but just starting out with the whole nesting box building. Great video and very informative!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much Nikki! It’s fun to try. 👍

[@amberjay5361]

This is such a great video. I’ve been wanting to make an owl box for a while and now I feel inspired to do so! Thanks for sharing!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much Amber! It’s a fun project.

[@stevepeet9841]

That's another good looking nesting box.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Steve! We’ll see how it goes hanging it and hopefully some owls will find it and use it at some point. Want to get it up ASAP as they might still use it this year. Still a fair amount of snow on ground though and need to transport it about 1/2 km or so.

[@williamford7966]

Nice build; thanks for sharing. I found your video through the Cornell University School of ornithology. I like the perch you provided.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks William! Interesting that you found it on the Cornell website. There are always things that I think might be done in better ways but at some point you have to go with one plan even if there probably are deficiencies in any specific design.

[@trextrextrex]

Great build.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much!

[@bobbyhaddock2242]

Loved watching your video. Awesome

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much. Happy you enjoyed it.

[@dmvgrower9290]

Awesome video, thanks for coming up with a nice box that’s tree friendly 👍😎

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much. Fun to try these things anyhow.

[@gregstickna5081]

Great video simple and short. You gave me a great idea for my next project.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much Greg! It’s a fun build and if you can get it put up in good habitat, will hopefully be used by Barred Owls. Good luck!

[@oxford821]

Looks great. If you get an Owl in there I hope you do an update video. I just built a box yesterday and posted it. I’ll be hanging it soon!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Oxford! I will certainly update if I get an Owl in the box. I’ll check your box update too. Good luck!

[@roberthayes5037]

Thanks for the video. Iv been thinking of making one but didn’t know how to start. Very thorough and practical. Thanks

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks for the comments. Glad the video may be of help. It’s worth a try.

[@StevePrimo]

Nice box. Great idea with the mounting system you came up with... when mounting it, try using and old metal coat hanger and attach that to your eye bolts on the owl box. Have it go up and over your box, kind of like a "bucket handle" would be. Then, you can put a screw in tree and hang your box from that coat hanger temporarily while you see if you like the positioning of your box. Plus it will hold it up while you attach your box to tree. I'm gonna use your chain mounting idea tho, great job

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks for that coat hanger idea👍

[@cutflower36]

Good design

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks very much

[@ToxicVaccines_HivHoax]

Good work! 👍🦉🦉 From what I understand, the front perch needs to be more like a "balcony" for best results. This because the young owls are quite clumsy and they tend to fall out of the box and die.

[@charleso8826]

1st time for me to be here... Subscribed bud

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks for checking out the channel. Hopefully something of interest amongst the topics for you. 🤓

[@daveherrin2701]

Simple. Well stated. I will try it. Thanks

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Dave! Have fun!

[@Josef_R]

I was hoping for an update on occupancy, but no luck.

[@ksoper1351]

Thanks

[@rogercarroll1663]

Nice box.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Roger. We’ll see if any owls think it’s nice or not I guess.

[@trondsi]

I am no expert in barred owls, but my experience from Europe makes me wonder if American owl boxes tend to have too large openings. In Europe, tawny owls tend to prefer boxes with openings that they can just squeeze through (fewer predators, and apparently fewer parasites too according to some studies, maybe because there are fewer visitors to a smaller hole).

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks for that info. I’ve wondered about the hole size too. I assume Tawnys are similar in size to Barred Owls. I’m not sure how big a hole they would actually need at minimum to get in. Perhaps a 4” or 10cm hole would work. Don’t think it could be much smaller.

[@trondsi]

@@hervedelnorte7928 It might work (I think that's close to minimum for tawny owl) or perhaps slightly larger for barred owl.

[@dangarrity7449]

I'm not an owl, but the chain link hanging looks very suspicious to me. I am curious if you had success with this box

[@danielpoirier6333]

Great! I was looking to make one similar so appreciate the ideas. I was just wondering if the smell of paint or stain would be a deterrent though? Anyway thanks for the share.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Hi Daniel Glad you liked the video. While I used exterior grade plywood, I did not use pressure treated (PT) plywood that some people do. The PT plywood doesn’t need to be painted or stained as it already has been infused with preservatives. Not sure if those chemicals would have any negative effect. Probably not as long as the wood is dried thoroughly. Acrylic latex paint or water based paints and/or stains have very little if any smell. Most birds also have poor olfactory abilities. So paint or stains should have no effect in my view. I would have gone with stain but I think the paint may provide more protection. But there are good water based stains. Oil based stains get into the wood better but have the annoyance of cleanup with mineral spirits and smell during use. Once they are thoroughly dry I doubt oil based stains would have negative impact on the birds either. Just like most stains people put in decks.

[@danielpoirier6333]

@@hervedelnorte7928 Thanks! I'll see what I have kicking around the garage. I was thinking, minimally, to use some linseed oil, since I have a fair bit on hand.

[@joer5627]

👍🏻 well done!

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Joe!

[@LexiandAimee123]

I wonder if curious young owls might fall through the cleaning hatch? Perhaps attach a latch?

[@hervedelnorte7928]

The hatch is screwed shut and will not open unless unscrewed.

[@BeckVMH]

@@hervedelnorte7928 Thanks for the clarification. Research indicates predators can access those doorways and I was wondering if you had addressed that. Thanks for your video!

[@ScanMan1967]

Did your house attract a pair that year and successive years? It's late Feb here in Nova Scotia and I'm wondering if it's too late to put one up.

[@hervedelnorte7928]

I Don’t think any owls have used the house yet but it probably should be higher and in a better location. I don’t think it’s too late to put a house up but if nothing else the owls may need time to find it - so if they don’t find it now, hopefully they will before next nesting season.

[@billysanford9799]

Excellent video!!! One of the best "how too" videos out here. Will you fastened the cleaning door with eye hooks?

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Thanks Billy! I actually screwed the cleaning door shut with a single 1 1:4” screw. I fastened a wood strip to the inside edge of the house in that area and then screwed into that. I’ll be posting a video soon about putting the box up.

[@MHarenArt]

Did you ever get an owl to nest there?

[@hervedelnorte7928]

Not yet. Sometimes it takes a while for owls to find them and like them but I probably could have found a better location as well. 😊

[@MHarenArt]

@@hervedelnorte7928 I truly you have one find and move into it!

[@pappy9473]

I wish USA contributors would consider the viewers elsewhere in the world, and translate imperial measurements to metric.😊

[@hervedelnorte7928]

I’m actually a Canadian contributor. Having said that I do apologize for not providing metric measurements. It’s tricky because even here in Canada wood is sold by imperial measurements. And so it gets confusing flipping back-and-forth between metric and imperial. But you’re right I should’ve provided metric measurements as well.

[@pappy9473]

@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you for your response and apologies for assuming you were from USA. The video was great despite the measurement issue. And I appreciate your attitude. Thank you.

[@radusodehnal8623]

👋👍🌹❤️🇨🇿

[@hervedelnorte7928]

👍🇨🇦

[@MYPROJECTS101.]

How did you end up hanging it up high up the tree?

[@hervedelnorte7928]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nn-5n6ydm96qhsU Here’s the video showing how I hung the box. I would have liked to get it twice as high but hard to do on a ladder.

[@yortsemloh1156]

Did they ever use it?

[@hervedelnorte7928]

I don’t think so this year. But it can take several years for owls to start using the boxes. I may not have it in the best of places either. Also have Northern Goshawks nesting nearby and they may be pushing the owls out during summer.

[@yortsemloh1156]

@@hervedelnorte7928 Keep us posted! 🦉

[@Sebastian_Bareyro]

Фанера не очень хороший материал для совятника. Или нужно красить снаружи. Блин. В итоге получилась кормушка. Зачем жердочку или присаду приделали? Это же удобное место для хищников сесть и разорить гнездо