The one I have used came from a book called "Owls: Their Natural and
Unnatural History" by John Sparks and Tony Soper (David & Charles, I
think published in North America by Facts on File) if you can find one
in a library. It is essentially a tray for use inside a barn or other
building, about 2 feet by three feet, with sides about 12 inches high.
The 3 foot length is divided across the middle with a divider a little
lower than the sides, into two equal spaces. The idea is they enter the
box into the front compartment, and lay eggs in the back. In our barn
the loft was used daily to drop hay down for horses, so I closed the
sides of the tray right up to the roof, so as not to spook the owls so
much. In a bigger barn they seem to get used to animals and humans more
easily. We also had a shelf outside the opening for landing, roosting,
getting away from the kids, etc. We put in a little door to monitor
nesting, and over several years used a tiny video camera with infrared
lighting to film them, day and night (hundreds of hours). If you do not
have a suitable building, they may use a more conventional nest box,
but it would have to be big - six or seven almost fledged owls take up
a lot of space.

Good luck with it - they're lots of fun.

Bruce Whittington
Ladysmith, BC
mailto: fieldnat at pacificcoast.net

On Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at 10:09 AM, Norma E Larson wrote:

> Hi Tweets--
>
> Does anyone know of a good recipe for a barn owl nest box? I'd like to
> try my luck. I have the tools--
>
> Thanks!
>
> Norma Larson
> Tukwila, WA
> abbynorma at juno.com
>