Project Barn Owl is a new venture of the Carolina Raptor Center's Research Committee. Working with local landowners, schools, and Eagle Scouts, we are installing 40 Barn Owl nest boxes in the Charlotte region. And while we're at it, because Barn Owls and Barred Owls will both use the same sized box, we're setting up boxes in more wooded areas, preferred by Barred Owls.

    Call us at the CRC (704 875-6521) to learn more about Project Barn Owl and help build nest boxes.

   Phase I: Project Barn Owl researchers will contact schools and landowners in or near suitable Barn Owl habitat (open fields) and begin installing boxes. These boxes will provide a critical step in establishing a stable Barn Owl population in our region.

    Phase II: Carolina Raptor Center researchers, volunteers, and visiting scientists will monitor the success of "our families" of Barn Owls to learn more about their natural yhistory and track the health of our local ecosystem.

    If you're interested in having a box on your property, helping with nest-box construction, monitoring, or other programs of the CRC, call our education and research coordinator, Edy MacDonald, at 704 875-6521 ext. 101.

ABOUT BARN OWLS.

    The Barn Owl is found throughout the continental United States. As their name implies, barn owls make their homes in old barns, silos, or cavities in hollow trees. They survive by feeding on the small rodents that live in fields and hedgerows. Barn Owls will readily use man-made nest boxes. Although little is known about these nocturnal creatures, it is believed that nesting pairs may remain in the same territory year round. Barn Owls are unique among raptors in that they can lay eggs anytime as long as adequate food is available.    

    Regionally, it is speculated that Barn Owl populations are shrinking as urban development encroaches on their open-country habitat. It is the hope of the Carolina Raptor Center to restore a stable population of Barn Owls and to study their behavior and reproduction. By building nest boxes and locating them in areas known to have barn owls, researchers will be able to preserve existing populations. Rehabilitated Barn Owls will also be able to be released into areas equipped with nest boxes that have sufficient prey, but no previous suitable housing.

    Until I can finish getting this page set up, contact Edy MacDonald-Cary at the Carolina Raptor Center (704 875 6521 ext 101) for details on how to build boxes and participating in the project. (Tips on building boxes, without the illustrations, are available by clicking on Nest Box Plans.)

    The project will provide a secure and long-term supply of nest sites in the area. We will involve students in our research into the natural history of the species, which is poorly known in the southeastern US.

More details will be added when I can....