Owl house is a very, very fine house …

In place and ready for occupants the very next day.

With apologies to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, look what I built. I had been thinking about it for several years and finally did something about it a couple of days ago, hit the lumber yard and built it yesterday.

I might be a little late already but I am going to give it a try. The drill motor battery didn't have enough oomph left to generate the torque necessary to make that 4-inch circular blade cut or I would be finished by now. Just have to cut the hole and paint and mount it in a tree. Then I can wait to see if it lures an owl. Might have to wait for next year.

Later that same day.

It might be a little bigger than necessary. Around here I could expect boreal or Saw whet owls which are tiny and this is designed for the next size up which would be a western screech owl. I figured the little ones could get into this nesting box, but the screech owl couldn't get into the smaller one. We'll see what happens.

I'm kind of hoping I don't get a saw whet owl. Years ago in another town, I heard this strange call from the woods, a constant beep beep beep going on for hours. With a little research I learned it was a saw whet owl, but also that their range extended only as far north as southeastern Alaska. I lived 500 miles from there and it hit me that this little guy might have been hooting the loneliest bachelor call in the world being he was so far from the nearest female. The beeping grew old in a hurry. That constant toot toot toot kept me awake at night, irritated me before I fully woke up in the morning and just kept going on and on. I thought this might be a substitute for waterboarding. I could do without one beeping in my backyard here. Just to show you what I mean, here's a clip of that sound: (In reality the calls are a lot louder than this.)



To tell the truth though I would be happy with any type of owl that chooses to reside and perhaps nest and raise young in this fancy new condo. You could call it affordable housing even. Watch this space.

These are the dimensions in case anyone is interested. The smaller one is about an inch shorter all the way around and has a 3-inch entry hole. Plan is from the 50birds.com website.

I think my all-time favorite sighting, and this has happened more than once, occurs at the East Pole. Looking down the hill at night, a full moon casting shadows across sparkling snow and among the trees a great horned owl glides on silent wings pursuing his nightly hunt.

Owl be seeing you in the polar vortex