Video of Screech Owlets Keeping Cool in a Hot Nest Box by Panting with their mouths open like dogs.
Our owl nest boxes are ready for the 2013 season and I have a very important reminder about placement. You want to make sure your box will not be exposed to the blazing late spring sun especially during the afternoon and especially if you put it on a structure's gable end as one of our is (See earlier posts). Even though the nest box has venting at the top it gets hot and with the mother and 3 to 5 owlets inside getting bigger every day they have to pant to keep cool. In this video it shows the owls at about 10am when they get a shot of morning sun, but then they get no direct sun the rest of the day. It would be pretty stressful to deal with that all afternoon - its painful to watch. You would want to take care not to have your owl box baking in the afternoon sun - especially in the south-land.
