Eastern Screech Owl House - This thing is AWESOME 

We do get squirrels and even opossums at times, but the owls will fend off any critters trying to take their home. Screech owls are small but very tough.

Great questions.. We never noticed a difference in behavior before or after the babies. They seemed to be fine as long as we didn't move too quick and stayed about 5 feet away from the tree. They were never aggressive toward anyone in our family, but did not seem to be big fans of bluejays.. :) It was really cool to have a camera looking through the roof of the owl house so we could see when the eggs were laid and how many hatched. It's also pretty funny to see the owlets grow and space gets a little crammed. Once they were old enough to jump up to the opening they would peak out throughout the day and feeding took place in the evening. We had one really cool experience where the owlets and their parents had left. We were sitting out on the back porch around dusk and we started to notice one owl sitting on the playhouse in our backyard and then one on the trampoline and then three more (the owlets) on a branch in the tree the owl house is in. Kind of like they were saying goodbye for the season. We really love having the owl house.

@@PRA7Reviews hi, What is the dimension of your owl house?

For screech owls they can fit perfect though the whole. Beautiful creatures.

Our house was about 10 ft away, but we could walk closer as long as we moved slow and without sudden movement.

Just something sturdy. I could even be on a shed. Make sure it is about 10ft off the ground. If in a tree it is idea (and something I did not have) to install it a little above a branch for the little ones to land on if they fall out. But that was never a problem. Best of luck with yours. They are so fun to watch.

We have had all sorts of critters try to move in, but the screech owls are tough. Many times at the end of the season when I am cleaning out the box and putting in new wood shavings, I will fill Bluejay feathers. Good luck.

You are correct in both statements. Though we do not have a branch just under the owl house, the owlets (all 3 sets of them) have never expressed trouble. Biggest concern would be one falling from the owl house and not being able to get back. But we have never witnessed that and we have cameras all around and even in the owl house.

I bought the same box (although it looks like songbirdessentials.com have discontinued this precise model) several months ago, but haven’t put it up yet because I haven’t been able to decide which branch of the various trees we have is best given the instruction about trying to have the “perching” branch for the young. However, on seeing your video, along with reading around various places, it looks like the *only* place that talks about that perch is the songbirdessentials.com instructions, on the sheet of paper that comes with the box. So I think I’m just going to site it the way you have, on a fairly bare trunk, and not worry about the perch. That also makes more sense for me in terms of squirrels. We have loads of the wee beasties and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a fight on my hands keeping them away, without essentially inviting the, in via a perch! Fingers crossed.

+Crystal Lee & The Junkyard Dogs Thanks.. It really is fun to watch and learn their behaviors. For the camera I am just using one camera from my Zmodo home surveillance system. I had previously had a camera just a couple feet from the opening of the owl house, but last year between seasons (when I clean out and replace the wood shavings) I cut a hole in the roof of the owl house and sealed a camera in place. Now we can capture video footage and watch from our TV. If you need more specifics please let me know.

I was wanting to set up a Screech Owl house at my parents place, they are out in the country and the Eastern Screech Owl is my favorite Owl, and I was wanting to know what Camera system you were using and how it was installed. Thank you so much on all information you can tell me on these Wonderful Owls!

In the back of the owl house there are four pre-drilled holes. Three inch screws were used to allow for any gap between the house and the tree to assure secure a solid attachment. The height of is at about nine feet. We have also installed one a little higher in a facing tree.

Over time we saw a few critters move it... or at least try to. We even has an opossum move in, but Screech owls are tough and always seemed to win.

Thank you for the heads up. I have added a link that is similar and should work perfectly. Screech owls are amazing to watch.

At our previous house we had two of these owl houses up and often had an owl in each. Sometimes it was another type of critter. But Screech Owls are tough and will defend their space.

@@PRA7Reviews going to put up one, Im in the woods so it will be great..thanks man

They are not aggressive towards people at all. As long as we approached them slowly they would watch us. Even at times we were with in a few feet and they were pretty chill. Screech owls are amazing creatures to watch and listen to. Enjoy and have a great week.

PRA7 Reviews thank you!! We appreciate you sharing your experience!

Thanks for the comment. We do clean ours out and put new cedar hamster shavings in. Just make sure there isn't an opossum in there before you reach in. About fell off my ladder one year.

This one came with a set of holes in the back and it is just screwed to the tree in multiple spots.

We have had all sorts of critters move in. One time I opened it up to clean it out and found an opossum staring back at me. Squirrels seem to like it. Though the screech owls are tiny, they are tough and do not take others moving into their home well. When cleaning out after they leave for the season I typically find bluejay feathers in there so we know how that went. Thanks for the question

The squirrels will move into the box and raise a family

Robert Breckel there are four predrilled holes in the back panel. you will need to drill pilot holes in the tree but it shouldn't take much

No it uses 3m command strips so you dont have to drill in the tree moron.

Have found squires and even opossums living in our owl house. But though these owl are little, they are tough and will help kick out anyone who shouldn't be there.

Typically just a thing layer of maybe an inch.

We used probably 3 inch screws to allow for the wood of the owl house as well as any gap space between it and the tree.

Install a 5’ metal heating duct over the tree trunk at least 4’ above the ground. You will need to trim nearby tree branches that squirrels will use to jump to the tree with the box. Jumping 6’ from tree to tree is easy for squirrels.

Owls call that ‘delivery’

We may need to try that.. Awesome idea

A tripod

+Crystal Lee & The Junkyard Dogs Thanks.. It really is fun to watch and learn their behaviors. For the camera I am just using one camera from my Zmodo home surveillance system. I had previously had a camera just a couple feet from the opening of the owl house, but last year between seasons (when I clean out and replace the wood shavings) I cut a hole in the roof of the owl house and sealed a camera in place. Now we can capture video footage and watch from our TV. If you need more specifics please let me know.

How do you keep starlings out?