Context: The introduced house mouse (Mus domesticus) causes significant economic damage to Australia’s agricultural enterprises. As part of the Marna Banggara Rewilding Project on the southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), the present study focused on the eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) as a potential bio-controller of mice, by providing nesting spaces where natural hollows are limited.

Aims: To design an appropriate pole-mounted wooden nest box, and to enhance barn-owl-breeding and house-mouse-hunting capacity on farmland adjacent to remnant native vegetation.

Methods: A prototype nest box was collaboratively designed with a nest box manufacturer using data from previous barn owl studies and anecdotal reports. Eleven pole-mounted wooden boxes with platforms were installed at distances >1.4 km apart on properties near Warooka, southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), and monitored over a 6-month period using external trail cameras.

Key results: Of the 11 nest boxes installed, 55 percent were colonised within a month after establishment, and 82 percent were colonised within 7 months. Occupied nest boxes were actively used by paired owls for mating, breeding and rearing of chicks, which resulted in up to 35 fledgling owlets.

Conclusions: The nest box design successfully supported eastern barn owl colonisation and reproduction on the SYP. The inclusion of the platform not only provided easy, minimally invasive monitoring of barn owl activity and prey intake by researchers, but also increased usable space for barn owl behaviours, such as copulation and wing flapping.

Implications: The important nest box design elements featured in this paper, such as the platform, high entrance hole, predator-proof pole and rear door access, can be implemented in barn owl conservation, research and on farms where alternative nesting sites are limited.

背景：引进的家鼠（Mus domesticus）对澳大利亚的农业企业造成了重大的经济损失。作为南部约克半岛（SYP）上的Marna Banggara野外项目的一部分，本研究着眼于东部谷仓猫头鹰（Tyto alba delicatula），它通过提供限制自然空洞的嵌套空间，将其作为小鼠的潜在生物控制物。

目的：设计一个合适的立杆式木巢箱，并提高与残留原生植被相邻的农田的谷仓猫头鹰繁殖和家鼠捕猎的能力。

方法：与巢箱制造商合作，使用先前的谷仓猫头鹰研究和轶事报告中的数据，共同设计了一个巢箱原型。在约克半岛南部（SYP）的Warooka附近的物业上，以距离> 1.4 km的距离安装了11个带有平台的立杆式木箱，并使用外部跟踪摄像头在6个月的时间内对其进行了监控。

关键结果：在安装的11个巢箱中，有55％的巢箱在建立后一个月内定植，有82％的巢箱在7个月内定居。配对的猫头鹰积极地使用了被占领的巢箱进行雏鸡的交配，繁殖和饲养，从而产生了多达35个雏鸟。

结论：巢箱设计成功地支持了东部仓eastern在SYP上的定殖和繁殖。该平台的加入不仅为研究人员提供了对谷仓猫头鹰活动和猎物摄入的轻松，微创的监控，而且还为谷仓猫头鹰的行为（例如交配和拍打翅膀）增加了可用空间。

含义：本文介绍的重要巢箱设计元素，例如平台，高入口孔，防掠食者的杆子和后门通道，可以在仓养护，研究以及在其他筑巢地点受到限制的农场中实施。