Owl Habitat Craft

Building an owl box is a useful and rewarding craft.

There are over 200 species of owls, and approximately a quarter of them are now endangered. Scientists and ecological groups are working to protect their dwindling habitats. Owl habitat crafts give both children and adults a chance to learn about owls and their importance in ecosystems, raise habitat restoration funds and even provide owls places to live and raise their young.

Educational Crafts for Kids

Teach children about owls when you give them crafts to make. Small children can color pictures of different owls in their habitats. Older kids can draw the pictures for younger children to color or make scrapbooks about owls as educational materials for classes or groups of smaller children. Take kids for observational hikes through habitats where types of owls local to you live, then let them design 3-D models of the habitats using elements from the real habitats, clay, papier-mache, plaster or other materials.

Decorative Crafts

Owl habitat scenes make great decorations for rustic home decor. Woodworkers can make sculptures of owls in their natural habitats. You can make pictures of owls and habitats using scroll saws. Old tree stumps in yards can be carved into owl sculptures which look at home in gardens. You can make ceramic molds of owls in habitats and paint them for a table top, porch or patio decoration. Bare room corners are good places for nature displays. Use tree branches and other natural items from local owl habitats to decorate a corner fountain. Add ceramic or wood carved owls to the display to add a wild and natural touch to rustic country rooms.

Informational Crafts

Use owl habitat crafts to inform people about owl habitat conservation or about restoration projects. Groups or families can make displays for town halls, schools and chambers of commerce to get the community interested in helping with the habitat projects. Collages with pieces of natural items found in owl habitats in your local area and pictures of owl habitats make good display items. Add before and after pictures of places where owl habitats used to be that were destroyed to the collages. You can also make brochures that discuss owl habitats, showing pictures of destroyed and restored habitats alongside the information.

Owl Nest Boxes

Of all owl habitat crafts, building owl boxes is the most directly helpful in restoring habitats. The type of owl box you build depends on the breed of owls in your local area. The box needs to be built for the specific size and living habits of the particular owls in your area. It is best to find the spot to put the box before you begin building it so that you can construct it correctly for the specific location. For instance, if you are putting a barn owl box in a barn it will not need a roof, while one that will be outside does. You may also want to build a birdbath for the owl family that inhabits your box.

References

• Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife: Living with Wildlife: Woodworking Projects for Backyard Wildlife: Kestrel, Saw-Whet Owl, and Screech-Owl Nest
• The Owl Pages: Farmers Use Owls to Kill Gophers
• National Wildlife Federation: Garden For Wildlife
• The Owl Pages: Owls: Species: All
• Earth's Endangered Creatures: Earth's Endangered Animal List

Resources

• The Barn Owl Trust: How to Make and Erect a Barn Owl Nestbox