Our wildlife towers have attracted nesting Barn Owls, Kestrels and House Sparrows, plus Little Owl, and four species of bat including Lesser Horseshoe and Brown Long-eared among all sorts of other creatures and small birds.
This proven design is ideal where a traditional Barn Owl site is being lost and provision which will last for future generations is needed. We offer professional architectural plans for a nominal donation of £50 – a huge saving on the cost of having your own plans drawn up. See Build a wildlife tower for more information.
This is how our first wildlife tower was built, with photos of all the wildlife friendly features included in the design:
Wildlife tower construction
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- A site was chosen and the ground was levelled.
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- Footings were excavated and stone moved over . . .
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- . . . from another part of the site.
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- The block work was started.
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- The stone facing followed.
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- The front doorway.
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- A nice stone lintel and the bat entrance hole.
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- Scaffolding was required for the second storey.
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- The gable end.
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- Green Oak was used for the roof timbers . . .
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- . . . with a generous overhang to provide cover.
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- Welsh slate was used on the roof.
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- Rocks for reptiles and amphibians were piled around the base.
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- Finished but looking a bit bare.
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- Only a week later… it snowed!
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- The front aspect showing the access doors and the Barn Owl provision
Wildlife tower features and provisions
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- The lower door is steel on the inside to keep the interior cool.
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- Upper level access door is just solid Oak
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- Cavities of varying sizes for nesting birds and invertebrates.
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- Small holes ideal for invertebrates, mainly on the south side.
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- Entrance hole to Barn Owl provision on the west side.
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- The bottom of the Barn Owl nestbox is 500mm below the owl hole.
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- Entrance hole to the Kestrel nestbox on the east side.
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- Kestrel nestbox with human access panel removed.
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- Little Owl entrance hole in the east side.
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- Little Owl nestbox just below the Kestrel provision.
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- One of various bat access holes.
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- South-facing insulated (hot) bat space.
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- Slate tile top of the cold north-facing bat space.
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Find out more about Wildlife Towers from the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook.