You can use any type of drill bit to drill the holes.
Barred owl box placement.
Barred owl nest box placement nest boxes for barred owls must be placed within the dense forest not on the edge.
Placement the best place to locate a nest box is where barred owls are already present usually in wet woods with large trees especially hemlock trees which the owls like for roosting.
I always place the box in a hardwood tree near some hemlocks.
Nesting platforms can also be placed in barns steeples or silos if the owls will be able to access them easily.
You should take care to hang the nest box within 300 feet of a water source pond stream lake or river.
Mount so that no branches or leaves obscure the entrance hole.
They are well adapted to living in a wide variety of climates and biomes.
So don t place a nest box on a building or a bare pole.
Inside the woods the direction the barred owl house faces doesn t matter as much.
If the box is mounted on a pole use a baffle to prevent cats raccoons and other predators from reaching it.
The drill bits should be 3 8 to 5 8 wide.
The first project we have chosen is to build owl nest boxes homes for barred owls.
Barred owl box plan printed with permission from woodcrafting for wildlife 11 place wood chips in bottom of box.
The entrance hole should face away from the prevailing rain direction if possible.
The distance should be exactly 1 2 from the edge of the drawn line to the edge of the wood.
The further you place the box from human activity the better your chances of having an owl use it it should be no closer than 150 feet.
The hardwoods have fewer branches and are easier to access with a ladder or climbing.
Barred owls prefer to nest in lowland mature forest areas.
They should face into an open area away from prevailing winds.
Place 3 4 of wood chips in bottom of box.
Cut water drain holes in the bottom.
Place a barn owl nest box at least 15 20 feet high but be sure the opening is shaded from the sun and wind.
As with many owl species their greatest challenge is finding adequate nesting habitat.
The amador barn owl box is suitable for mounting in trees or structures although pole mounting is becoming the most common.