Barn Owls
Sal Schettino (sals@rain.org)
Thu, 22 Sep 1994 16:18:13 -0700 (PDT)
I went to a CCOF California Certified Organic Farmers meeting last night
where Pete Triem of the Raptor Rehabilitation and Release Program gave a
talk about The Barn Owl. Its was a dream come true for me if it works. I
have been fighting gophers for years with the gophers winning now a
organic answer I have been giving permission to put the whole paper How to
build nest boxes from off-the shelf materials on my home pgae conplete
with pictures of nests. You can reach it using lynx ,mosic or what ever
gui server you have . the address on the inteernet is
http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html.The Barn Owl has
nearly world-wide distribution,being absent from only the high Latitudes.
It has been introduced into some Pacific islands for rat control and is
provided nest boxes in Malaysian palm nut groves for the same purpose.
While the barn owl is found all over the US, its numbers are particularly
high in California and the Southwest. Farmers and ranchers are
increasingly attracted to the barn owl's ability to control rodents better
than traps,poison,or cats and at no cost. arn owls in favorable habitats
produce large broods once or twice a year. Each young owl as it nears
maturity will eat the equivalent of a dozen mice per night if such prey is
available. Adult barn owls kill and consume the equivalent of one large
rat or gopher per night. The Owl Rehabilitation Research Foundation,
Ontario, Canada, reports that barn Owls consume twice as much food for
their weight as other owls. The number of barn owls in an area is limited
by both prey base and Suitable nesting sites. In the West,barn owls not
only nest in natural trees cavities and buildings, they also nest in
cavities in cliffs and cut banks,stacked hay bales,and in palm trees. Use
of these sites often leads to nesting failure such as when bales are
shifted or the young outgrow the nest at the base of palm fronds.
For more info check my home page. its long but worth it.
Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org
or check out my homepage: http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html