Eastern Screech-Owls in Kansas

Eastern Screech-Owls live in Kansas all year. Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward mice and roosting birds.

Continental — humid tallgrass Flint Hills in the east to semi-arid shortgrass prairie in the west.

Across Kansas, eastern screech-owls typically nest from March–May. Nest site: tree cavity or nest box with wood-chip base. Females lay 2–6 eggs, incubate for 26–34 days, and young leave the nest after about 28 days.

Hot summers above 95°F; western Kansas is dry, so water draws birds from far away.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before February — eastern screech-owls begin prospecting ahead of egg-laying.
• Use a 3 in entrance on a 8 × 8 in floor, mounted 10–30 ft.
• Fit a pole baffle or hole guard; ventilation gaps and drainage holes are essential.
• Clean out old nests after each brood and again after May.

Of the regional native plants we track for Kansas, these 8 provide food or cover eastern screech-owls use:

Screech-owls roost in nest boxes by day; a box on a large tree 10–30 ft up is often used year after year.

• Best foods: .
• In Kansas's winter: Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover.

Full diet breakdown for eastern screech-owls