I want to attract owls to my garden. I think owls are so cool with their puffy bodies, round feather faces, and mysterious nocturnal habits. Sometimes visiting friends gardens I have seen owls. Usually half asleep in a tall tree peering down at me, judging me. I want that in my garden. I want to know that an owl has judged me and found that the garden I have provided is good enough. To pass this test I’m going to need habitat, places to perch, hunt, nest, and feel safe.
Owls like big trees to perch in and surveil their territory. I have a few old sugar maple trees behind my house. I have planted a Kentucky coffee tree, red maple, and bur oak to take their place as the sugar maples grow old. Since large trees take so long to grow it is important I keep a constant flock of new trees growing up to replace the older ones. Older dying trees are also great places for owls to perch and nest in. A silver maple over my rain garden is almost dead and since it is not a danger to fall on anything important I will let it naturally decay. Right now it is home to woodpeckers and squirrels and many wood nesting insects, maybe an owl will move in some day. I haven’t put up any nest boxes for owls yet but that would be a good thing to work on soon. Great nest box plans are offered here https://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/your-visit/nest-box-plans/
Owls hunt small mammals and birds. It is sad when a predatory bird kills one of my song birds but that is nature. When I see all the birds scatter off the feeder I know to look around for a predator and usually find a hawk nearby. To attract plenty of prey animals for owls to eat I provide food, water, and shelter for wildlife. The native plants provide seeds and insect habitat. I have a little pond with a bubbler that attracts birds during the day and mammals at night. Mammals and birds find shelter in my garden in the shrubs, brush piles, and dense vegetation of the garden. A healthy wildlife population needs to have some predators to keep the smaller animals in balance.
My little patch of yard is not big enough alone for an owl to live on. I need to get my neighbors involved too. There are very few large trees in my neighborhood but many of my neighbors are willing to plant a tree once given information about the benefits. I also need to educate my neighbors about ways to protect owls. Don’t put out rodent poison. If a poisoned mouse is eaten by an owl the owl is also poisoned. Watch out for owls when driving at night, they swoop low over roads when hunting and don’t know to look both ways.
To find out more about owls and see some in the urban wild check out http://forestparkowls.blogspot.com/
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