Barn owls have nested in our yard almost every year. Their traditional site was a chimney flue, but we have, at various times, lured them to other sites, including a nestbox in an attic window. Last year we finally were successful in attracting them to a nesting platform in the silo. The nesting was successful although only three eggs were layed, However, the fledglings weren't able to fly the width of the silo from the platform over the ladder to the opening, and ended up on the floor of the empty silo. The parents continued to feed them and they were thriving when I discovered them, but were still unable to fly straight up the silo to escape. They had probably been on the silo floor 3-5 days when I found them. My presence was enough to scare two of them to make it all the way to the top after several tries. The third one could only make it about half way up and had to be released through the work shop. All three returned to the silo the next night to be feed by the parents. The small one once again ended up on the floor, unable to ascend to the silo top and was removed through the shop. From then on, they all either managed to not fall down the silo or were able to escape. They continued returning to the silo each night for a couple weeks.
Adult on platform at top of silo, prior to the 1998 nesting A 4" lip was added to the platform in early spring when the owls began using the silo. The platform was also leveled and covered with wood chips to prevent the eggs from rolling around.
