The Owl Project

This Christmas season I decided to stay home, relax and maybe work on a few small projects around the house. Highest on my list was to make an owl box.

An owl nest box, hopefully for a Spotted Eagle-Owl (Gevlekte Ooruil - Bubo africanus)

I got a rough idea of the size and design from online sources, but didn't feel like following any specific plan. Instead I bought a couple of pieces of scrap wood, screws, varnish and a brush from my local hardware store and started putting it together as I went along. It isn't finished yet, but I think its turning out decently well.

The plan is to place the nest box at our family holiday home. I've seen Spotted Eagle-Owls in the area, but we'll have to wait and see what happens...

The Spotted Eagle-Owl is a common species throughout most of South Africa and I've even camera trapped them a few times.

Spotted Eagle-Owl camera trapped at Berg River Dam

Hopefully towards the end of 2017 I'll be able to do a follow-up blog post with some good news.