Owl cages from concrete wire

[gwarnerjr]

Could an owl cage be made from 6 x 6 concrete wire? Less wind resistance, easier access for martins and easier to work with. Surely an owl wouldn't be able to fit inside without quite a battle. Any thoughts?

[Dave Duit]

Good idea. But, from past experience the wire mesh style cages are not hawk proof. It may stop owls, but opens the chances for hawks to side swipe the martins as they perch on the horizontal part of the square mesh. I had this style of cage and the hawk has picked of martins from the cage. I will be posting an alternative to counter this hawk attack possibility in another thread; titled hawk clothesline deterrent.

[Thomabear]

I initially had a cage made out of 6x6 wire and took it down after seeing martins using the wire to perch on only to be picked off by a persistent hawk. To me it wasn’t worth being top heavy in my hurricane prone area to help only for owls so down it came. My counter plan was to build something like Dave did with only vertical wiring. Just haven’t got around to it yet. Look at the thread Dave started along with the comments. To me, if you’re investing time in installing a protective barrier for your martins it should cover hawks as well as owls.