Nestbox for Powerful Owl

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soocase_1
soocase_1's picture
Nestbox for Powerful Owl

Wondering if anyone has a nestbox plan for Powerful Owls as they visit our garden (10 acres) on Nepean river at Wallacia.  The other question is.... would they nest around this area.

Thanks,  Susan

Qyn
Qyn's picture

Here are some links to some nestboxes on here plus the second one includes plans for the powerful owl as I notice that they are not included in the ones on this site - if the owls visit your property a nest is always possible however no-one can say for sure as they may already have a nest site elsewhere in their range.

Nestboxes plans on Bird in Back Yards

Nestboxes plans from a council  site including the Powerful Owl

Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."

Holly
Holly's picture

I have alerted David Bain our Powerful owl project officer to the thread, I am sure that he will pop in with some thoughts - one thing he is trying to look at is the characteristics of natural hollows - that could certainly help with planning nest boxes.

 

I know there have only been a couple installed around the place. One got put up in Melbourne that was occupied and another has been put up in the Botanic Gardens in Sydney but isn't being used. Dimension wise all I know is that they are pretty enormous!

 

 

DavidB
DavidB's picture

Below is an article on the Powerful Owl nest box in Melbourne Holly mentioned (that was used)

AUSTRALIAN Field Ornithology 2011, 28, 65–75, A Powerful Owl Disperses into Town and Uses an Artificial Nest-box, by
ED McNABB and JIM GREENWOOD

Nest boxes were attached 15-20m above the ground using trace springs and chain. Description of the box as follows:

"Artificial nest-boxes with floor dimensions of 550 × 550 mm were constructed
from 12-mm exterior plywood, with blocks of framing pine placed internally at the
corners and midway along the sides, with galvanised screws attaching the sheets
of plywood to the blocks. Each back wall was 800 mm high, and the front wall was
700 mm high to provide runoff. The oversized sloping lid was connected with a
piano hinge. A 200-mm-wide hole was cut in the top of the front, and two perches
were fitted. Hoop iron was used to brace the boxes and prevent sag (as shown in
Plate 19). The removable bases were gently convex to allow for drainage. This was
achieved with 30-mm-diameter hardwood dowel spanning the base, and a wooden
wedge jammed between the base and the dowel to secure the base and create a
slight doming (Plate 20). Inner surfaces were all left unpainted, with the exception
of the floor, which was oiled with decking oil to prevent bacterial and fungal decay.
A ladder of plastic lattice was installed inside below the entrance-hole, and this in
combination with the framing pine and added blocks of wood allowed easy egress
(Plate 21). Even with these aids, however, several noisy attempts were required
for both adult and juvenile Owls to reach the entrance-hole"

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