Adding owl boxes to vineyard to control rodent population - Ask Extension
We have 20 acres of vineyard in the Willamette Valley and would like to attract native owls to bring down the rodent population. What types of owls sh...
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Adding owl boxes to vineyard to control rodent population #874021
Asked June 21, 2024, 12:02 AM EDT
We have 20 acres of vineyard in the Willamette Valley and would like to attract native owls to bring down the rodent population. What types of owls should we try to attract and are there designs for specific owl boxes we can build? How many owls should we try to attract for our acreage?
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Many raptors (diurnal and nocturnal) will take voles. I recommend adding 1 raptor perch per 5 acres (roughly) to help welcome everything from kestrels to all of the hawks to owls.
Barn owls and western screech owls are the ones most likely (and likelihood of box adoption is very spotty) to adopt our boxes. Here's a link to one barn owl box design https://magazine.ucdavis.edu/build-an-owl-box/ and one for screech owls/kestrels https://www.zoomontana.org/nest-box-project
HOWEVER, first you need to do a little research or comb your memory, especially from this past winter: If you have great horned owls using your property, you are very unlikely to be able to attract and hold a pair of barn owls - Great horneds regularly prey on barn owls as well as many other species on land and in the air. For example, Great horneds are the only ones that will take a fully-grown skunk, so having the big owls is not a bad thing!...Cornell's All about birds site has a page that lets you compare owl calls https://dl.allaboutbirds.org/owl-sounds-cam?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvujO1I73hgMVug-tBh1CVwi4EAAYASAAEgKdVvD_BwE but you can also google on your own to find examples.
Either way (with or without great horned owls), the raptor perches will provide more vole-hunting access for numerous species. They don't have to be fancy: A secure pole/post with a cross-bar at about 15' is all it takes.
Barn owls and western screech owls are the ones most likely (and likelihood of box adoption is very spotty) to adopt our boxes. Here's a link to one barn owl box design https://magazine.ucdavis.edu/build-an-owl-box/ and one for screech owls/kestrels https://www.zoomontana.org/nest-box-project
HOWEVER, first you need to do a little research or comb your memory, especially from this past winter: If you have great horned owls using your property, you are very unlikely to be able to attract and hold a pair of barn owls - Great horneds regularly prey on barn owls as well as many other species on land and in the air. For example, Great horneds are the only ones that will take a fully-grown skunk, so having the big owls is not a bad thing!...Cornell's All about birds site has a page that lets you compare owl calls https://dl.allaboutbirds.org/owl-sounds-cam?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvujO1I73hgMVug-tBh1CVwi4EAAYASAAEgKdVvD_BwE but you can also google on your own to find examples.
Either way (with or without great horned owls), the raptor perches will provide more vole-hunting access for numerous species. They don't have to be fancy: A secure pole/post with a cross-bar at about 15' is all it takes.
