I climbed the ladder the other day to find the pair quietly nestled in the corner of the box waiting for night to fall. They are fearsome silent hunters that can pick off as many as 1000 rodents per year. We often hear their characteristic screech at night and occasionally see their shadowed flight. The white heart shaped face is particularly designed to act as a second set of ears, capturing sound in their disc shape. A mouse under the dry grass is not safe. Their heads are able to turn 180 degrees in both directions and their talons and beak to capture and tear at food. Another remarkable thing about owls is the ‘pellets’ they regurgitate once they have digested their prey, spitting out a glob of hair and bones, also using it to line the nest for the eggs that will soon be hatched. Owlets are rather clownish to begin with but become lovely as adults.
Old style barns with large open lofts for owls to fly into are harder to find with new building styles, but with a bit of effort even an owl box, high on a pole with the proper dimensions and hole size might attract a pair of nocturnal hunters.