Owl/Hawk Guards for Houses
Great
Horned Owls (GHO’s) are a major predator of both house nesting and gourd nesting
Purple Martins. GHO’s will land on the porches of houses or grab the front of
gourds, reach in, and attempt to extract martins or their young at night. Sometimes
they just beat their wings against the house or gourd and snatch the terrified
martins as they are scared out and attempt to escape. Even deep-compartmented
houses need guards to prevent owls from landing on the porches and scaring the
martins out by creating a lot of noise and confusion. Since GHO’s are
nocturnal and secretive, most people aren’t even aware that they’re in the area.
Unless a landlord is doing 5-7 day nest checks (or prowling around their property
in the middle of the night, like me), they probably won’t even be aware if owls
are preying 
on their martins. The PMCA encourages all landlords with active
colony sites to equip their houses or gourd racks with owl guards. If installing
guards for the first time, wait until the young have hatched. Install the guards
early on a fair-weather day after the young are 2-3 days old. The martins’ urge
to feed their young is very powerful and they will soon overcome their
suspicion of the guards and enter.
Important: Prepare & rehearse the installation of the guards beforehand
so that you can attach them fairly quickly once the time arrives. After the
first season, the guards can be left on permanently since the martins will have
become accustomed to them. Top photo: Trio Castle with enlarged compartments
and owl guard made out of 2" x 4" hardware cloth, that can be purchased
at hardware or lawn and garden stores. It's not necessary to paint it
white. Please note: It may be better to orient the hardware
cloth guard so that the openings are 2" TALL and 4" WIDE.
Photo at right: A wooden T-14 being fitted with Owl Guards.
Simply attach strips of wood, about 2" apart, all the way around the porches.
