Although you might see plans for them on the Internet don't bother building a Great Horned Owl Birdhouse. Great Horned Owls are simply not comfortable inside enclosures. Instead you will need to build something called a nesting plat form. This is because this is a fierce nocturnal creature that likes to hunt at night and does not relish confinement. Also if you were going to build a birdhouse for a great horned owl it would have to be huge as this bird can be as much as five pounds.

Building a platform for a great horned owl is not a job for the amateur outdoorsman or craftsman. First of all the nesting platform must be located in a forest or even on the outskirts of a forest. It must also be mounted at least fourteen feet on a sturdy post. This is why it is a good idea to have a professional install this type of platform on your property.

If this post is not adjacent to a tree line of some sort then this type of dwelling is a waste of your time and will simply become a resting place for other birds. As you have discerned it is not really a Great Horned Owl Birdhouse but almost more of a mid-air patio. The owls don't necessarily feel the need to protect their eggs because they are too large for other birds to swipe and also many birds make a nice meal for a Great Horned Owl. Thus they do not have the need for four walls around them like other birds.

If you do build a Great Horned Owl birdhouse or platform of some sort don't expect to see any of these majestic birds too often. Like all owls they are night owls. It likes to hunt in the dark and often all most people sight is the familiar shadow of the owl. This owl is easily recognized in silhouette because of the two tufts of feathers on either side of its head that resemble Devil horns. Remember too that even if you do go to all the trouble of building a platform for these finicky birds it may not be used as owls also prefer to lay their eggs in nests that have been abandoned by other birds.

If you are constructing any type of great horned owl birdhouse or platform it is probably a good idea to make it out of the most worn wood that you can find. This is because owls don't like paint. They prefer wood that has been weathered and that is teeming with delicious insects. That is why it is perfectly acceptable to make the platform for these owls out of worn wood. These picky birds also don't like the look of shiny screw heads. That is why it is a good idea to cover the heads of the screws or nails with pine wood filler. Locating this platform near to where there are a lot of Osprey nests is probably a good idea as the Great Horned Owl is a great predator of the osprey.