Modifying a chimney box

(Page now discontinued—not worth doing!)

Go to next page

That's an ex-chimney box on its side.

Reasons for discontinuing page (June 2008) . . .

In autumn 2006 I modified a chimney box I had to see if something reasonable could be made of it and at the same time experiment with putting a camera in the spare space at one end. The box was put up in a territory belonging to a Tawny Owl couple, but over two seasons they made no use of it. This was despite the fact that they roost just 70 yards away. In the first year they didn't breed; this year (2008) they did but ignored the box altogether! Someone else (at Kauzcam in Germany) who's tried this type of box—long with a low ceiling—found that tawnies seem to prefer more conventional, deeper type designs.

So, in the face of that pretty clear verdict, the box was taken down this year and I'm discontinuing this page until I can find a better use for it. Next page: Adding a Camera . . .

Some old pics left over from this page showing how adult owls use a ledge.

Left: aircraft carrier stop against the base of the door; right: kicking off. This is a female with young. The father (night photo) sometimes stands on the ledge to survey the scene when he arrives with prey (thumbnail only).

Index page

Next page: Adding a camera

powered by owls