Little owls mate for life and tend to use the same breeding sites year after year. Therefore it is important to provide suitable nesting sites to help preserve this fascinating owl. This box is the original Schwegler design, proven to be a attractive to little owls. Ornithologists recommend always hanging a minimum of three boxes immediately adjacent to one another since the birds will use one or more to store food and young birds will use them as shelter. Such measures will considerably improve the survival prospects for this species. The box should be placed on a horizontal branch with the entrance hole facing the trunk. This discourages interference by passers-by and also makes it easier for the birds to fly in and out.
If you don't have trees with suitable horizontal branches (e.g. some fruit trees), then you may want to consider the Schwegler Little Owl Box 22.
For top tips on making your nest box a success, see our blog on Five FAQs About Attracting Birds to Your Nest Box.
External shape: round.
Length: 83 cm.
Interior diameter of brood chamber: 18 cm.
Width of entrance hole: 6.5 cm.
Schwegler nests will last decades and are readily adopted by birds. This means decades of breeding success in real life conditions. These nest boxes have been developed in close collaboration with leading ornithologists, nature conservation organisations, Government conservation agencies and forestry experts, and are backed up by decades of experience and knowledge. In each nest box the size of the brood chamber, diameter of the entrance hole and many other features have been adapted to the needs and behaviour of the animals themselves. Experiments by bird protection organisations worldwide have demonstrated that the highest density of bird populations (i.e., breeding pairs per hectare) is achieved with Schwegler nest boxes.
Schwegler nest boxes have been officially recognised and approved by the following organisations and numerous others worldwide:
German Federal Biological Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (BBA)
German Nature Protection Association (NABU)
Bavarian Regional Association for the Protection of Birds (LBV)
German Environmental Protection Association (DUH)
Jordsand, Society for the Protection of Seabirds and Nature
EURONATUR/European Cultural Heritage Foundation
LPO, France
Luxemburg Association for the Protection of Birds and Nature
Blue Bird Association of North America
SEO, Spain
LIPU, Italy
Global Nature Fund
Vogelbescherming, Belgium