A Trial of the Use of Artificial Nest-boxes for the Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae near Newcastle, New South Wales

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of artificial nest-boxes in the territory of a breeding pair of Masked Owls Tyto novaehollandiae occupying a fragmented mosaic of urban bushland near Newcastle, central coastal New South Wales. Nest-boxes were trialled as a mitigation measure to offset the loss of several identified natural roost-trees cleared during construction of a four-lane road and residential subdivision. The use of the nest-boxes by the Owls was monitored over a 5-year period. Nest-boxes proved useful in the short term as a substitute for natural tree-hollows by juvenile Masked Owls, during the transition from nest- to hollow-roosting. There was no evidence that the nest-boxes were used by the resident adult pair. Possible factors for this result are discussed, along with issues associated with applying nest-boxes as a management and research tool for large forest owls.