Encouraging tawny owls, barn owls and kestrels to use a nestbox

Unlike most other birds, barn owls, tawny owls and kestrels don’t build a nest. Instead they just scrape a shallow depression in which to lay their eggs. This means when you put up or have cleaned out a nestbox for any of these species, to encourage birds to use it, it’s really important to provide them with something in which they can create a shallow bowl. A layer of untreated wood shavings, bark chippings, moss or similar spread across the base of the box a couple of centimetres deep is ideal and will make your box attractive to the birds and maximise the chances of it being occupied.