Nestboxes

Time-lapse of Barn owls at Bibra Lake

Joe — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:14:26 +0000

The City of Cockburn has installed several of my possum and owl nesting boxes at Bibra Lake. In front of one possum box I set up a remote trail camera. Now, I didn’t capture any possums, but a pair of Barn owls decided to check it out. The poor devils are so desperate for homes they’ll settle for just about anything. As the time-lapse images show both feral and native birds show an interest in the box. They all know the owls are in there and make all sorts of fuss to try and drive it away. They also know that come darkness, the owls are kings, and they could be the next take-away meal.

Another interesting observation is by watching the time stamp at the top left of the images you can see when the owls leave to start their hunting and returning to the box. Even though the cameras have covert infra-red LEDS and they can’t see the light but they can hear the mechanism clicking away taking multiple shots.

This goes to show that installing a large enough nesting box in your property could attract these types of magnificent birds. Of course, for a Barn owl you want have some mixed areas of bushland close by. They tend to fly over, slow and low, hunting for rats.

Nine and a Half years

Joe — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:04:56 +0000

Recently I had the pleasure of returning to a clients home and checking the nest boxes for maintenance. They were installed Nine and a half years ago. Almost no signs of ageing. The paintwork was not cracked or chipped. No splitting of the plywood. They only required a quick clean out and lick of paint. Oh, the hinge was rusted solid. I replaced it with a solid brass type which is has been my standard for quite some years now. It brings great joy to my heart knowing that putting passion into building proper nest boxes has paid off. In todays world how many exterior products can last that long and still continue.

So when you’re ready to purchase a box think about the longevity of it all. Will you get you moneys worth?

Learning how to build a solid bat box.

Ringtailed Possum finds a home

Joe — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:37:04 +0000

Sometimes caring for animals who need homes is like living on a little island. This is surrounded by a sea of humanity that don’t think much about the sharing this planet with the animals in this world. But every now and again I find an moving story regarding nesting boxes. This is one of them. Recently, while holidaying in the South-West of Western Australia my family happen to stay at the Broadwater Resort in Busselton. At some stage a groundsman decided to build some nesting boxes for the local Ringtailed Possums and scatter them around the beautiful Peppermint trees in the resort. Perhaps they’re not works of art and will not stand the test of time, but someone has made an effort to provide some homes for these delightful little critters. Now, they’re bringing pleasure to the guests who can approach them quite closely.
Installed only about 3 to 4m about the ground it’s amazing to see the possums use them. There you go, it shows that we can live with the animals.
So, think about your place? Can you provide a nesting box for some lucky bird or possum. The rewards are endless. Great to watch the inhabitants coming and going.Very special to share with the grandkids…

Simple box, home away from home.

Ringtailed possum hanging on.

Do nest boxes really work??

Joe — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:33:50 +0000

Every now and again I get asked this question. Well, apart from my existing photos showing the birds interested in the boxes I decided to photograph some more elusive critters. The Barn Owl.
I set up a camera close to one of my multiple-use large boxes and the proof is in the pudding as we say. The following images show that a pair of Barn Owls love this box. From studying the images the owls leave and enter the box at about the same time each night. How did I know I had Owls in there. The design is such I can see through the front louvre with binoculars and spotted the owl roosting during the day. That’s when I crept back in the middle of the night when they had gone and rigged up the camera.
The owls are so desperate for a home they moved into boxes built for possums.

"I'm having a closer look"

Guess who's found a new home???

Bob the Barn owl finds a new home

Joe — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:45:48 +0000

Deep in the suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, lies a bush reserve called Bibra Lake. This falls under the local council umbrella named City of Cockburn. Thanks to these wonderful bunch of caring people, Bob the Barn Owl, has found a new home. As you may know Bob needs a very large and old tree to live in. Unfortunately, due to land clearing, there are very few around. He loves this countryside, with large areas of small grass near the lake to hunt. He has no shortage of food because there are mice running all over the place.
But, just like all the other critters of this beautiful land, he’s always looking for a place to call home and raise his children.
Well, one night, while gliding and floating around through the trees he saw an odd shaped tree with a large hole poking out. Getting excited he swooped in, landed on the large knotty branch and peered in. Now his heart was pounding…’this is beautiful’ he thought. The entrance was large enough for him to fit through and the “hollow” was deep. Well, not as deep as he would really like …but it’s good enough.
After climbing down he reached the bottom. Hmm, looking around inside he decided this was going to be his new home. Throughly excited by now, he couldn’t wait to tell Mrs Owl. Up he climbed(didn’t quite feel like wood) till he reached the top, and with one last look, turned and leapt off flapping his wings, eager to share his wonderful find.

Bob's camera shy

Pardalotes Nesting

Joe — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 04:52:13 +0000

It’s nesting time for the Pardalotes.
Mom and Dad are flat out feeding the little chicks just behind the entrance of the nest box. I can hear them squawking loudly, more food, more food..

Dad's about to fly off for more food.

The Owl Box

Joe — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:14:03 +0000

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It takes hundreds of years for a tree to provide a hollow large enough to support an owl, but you don’t need to wait that long. By installing an owl box there is a good chance you could be blessed with this king of the night. It’s something primeval and haunting at the same time to have one living in your garden.

We have designed the owl box after studying in depth their preferred type of hollow to nest in. They throughly enjoy this type of home because they like to roost near the top of the box(on the inside) just back in from the hollow entrance. During the day it’s possible to actually see the owl sleeping with tiny slits as eyes. Of course all the birds go berserk and scream alarm calls to warn their feathered friends of the danger in the neighbourhood. They know that they can be the next “take away” on the menu.

Just on dusk, as regular as clockwork it shuffles out to a perch which is on the front of the hollow entrance. Then off it goes gliding as smooth as silk, totally silent, off hunting for an evening meal. Sitting out the back near the box we watch it float past totally in awe with the hairs on our arms tingling with the experience.

This is nature at its best….

Listen to the sound of a Southern Boobook owl calling

The Pardalote Box

Joe — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:11:43 +0000

These birds are just simply beautiful to watch. They generally are difficult to observe because they are so small in physical size. They’re built more like a finch. How do you know if you have them in your garden. It’s the distinctive call which identifies them. A strong clear,sharp, “witta-witta” sound. They are very choosy in the size of the nesting box they require. After extensive research with birding experts we have designed, tested and trialled a suitable box for them.

Have a close look at the nesting material used in the box. Both male and female prepare the nest by bringing in with their beaks, tiny strips of grass. At the bottom there is a chamber the size of a tennis ball, leading up from this is a tunnel, about the size of a 20 cent coin. Talk about hard work.

After they have found the box, particularly when they are breeding, they zoom in like bullets towards the narrow entrance and seemingly don’t stop. You shake your head and wonder did it really happen. They do this to avoid predators.

At other times, they have wild bird parties and crowd around the box, hang upside down, while spreading their delta shaped wings looking pretty cool.

Another delightful Australian bird to watch…..great fun.

The Brushtail Possum Box (plus tips to attract possums away from your roof)

Joe — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:05:43 +0000

The possum box is specifically designed to accommodate a full family of Brush Tailed Possums, that is Mum, Dad and two little ones. Within days of having one installed the possums will know that it’s there. To entice it to live in its new home it’s advisable to leave a Granny Smith green apple cut in half, one half in the box the other at the bottom of the tree.
The possums have an extreme sense of smell and will detect the apple very quickly.
If you have possums living in your roof space, and you want them removed, observe where they come out at dusk then block the hole so they cannot re-enter. If you have inadvertently left a possum in the roof set up a cat trap in the roof space with a green apple as bait. After catching the animal lower it through the ceiling then release it outside. Sprinkling baby talcum powder around areas where you think they are going will give you an idea of their movements.
Sometimes a sensor light attached to the roof rafters can work chasing them away.

The Parrot Box

Joe — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:59:40 +0000

Having one of these in your garden will keep you throughly entertained by their antics and parenting behaviour. Watch the mum near the entrance cooing and making strange noises trying to entice the fledglings out from the nest. They all bunch up with their heads poking out trying to sum up the courage to jump and fly.

As the new tenants enjoy their home they are always on guard. Just wait till other parrots come by. Then it’s a big fight to see who wins ownership. When they start fighting the males lock claws, start falling out of the sky to land with a big bang on my shed. The parrots display quite visual behaviour while exploring the nest box. They tend to spread and “wag” their tails to indicate to one another that a nesting site has been found and it should be checked out. At the same time they have a “chatttering” call which appears to be an excited one.

After a couple have found the box it seems to the observer that they never seem to go into it. They just land on the perch and poke their heads in. Then after a while they fly off and you think well,that’s that and the’re not going to breed, but as soon as you stop looking (they seem to sense that), they jump in. Of course during spring you will catch them going in and out while they go about their business raising the little ones.

Highly entertaining it all is….who needs to watch television.