Clearcutting, shorter cutting cycles, urban sprawl and other land use practices have reduced or eliminated nesting cavities for a numher of species including Barred Owls (Strix varia). Recognizing this problem, Howard and Larry Smith, two
brothers who have a log cabin on Guntersville Lake, designed a box for a pair of Barred Owls whose territory had been invaded by houses and a loss of nesting sites around their lot on the Lake. The two placed the box in a tree behind their cabin and within a few weeks the owls moved in and presumably used the box for roosting orne sting.