by Joyce Linda Sichel
On a trail near the Medford Leas community farm is a nesting box for a family of barn owls. It was constructed by one of our expert resident woodworkers, Ed Barcus. His friend Earl Evens, an avid farmer, suggested that having barn owls nearby would be useful to keep rodents like mice and voles under control at the farm. Surprisingly, a barn owl could eat 70 to 80 pounds of rodents in a season.
Using scraps of western cedar siding, Ed made and mounted the box high on a three-trunk tree along a trail adjacent to the farm. The box has two chambers and a sawdust floor to provide for the nesting female and the eggs she would hatch.
This is not the only wooden bird house that Ed has built. Also at Earl’s request, Ed constructed a wood-duck nesting box which he mounted on a dead red cedar tree near the canoe-launching site on the creek. Ed also built a bluebird nesting house near our silo, and a wren house within the farm enclosure. The wren house was promptly occupied, even without the help of our marketing department.
It is gratifying to know how one of our highly skilled residents uses those skills in service to the community. He would appreciate help from any readers who have successfully kept black snakes from such boxes.