Eastern Screech-Owls in Texas

Eastern Screech-Owls live in Texas all year. Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward mice and roosting birds.

Humid subtropical in the east and along the Gulf, semi-arid to arid in the west; long, hot summers and short, mild winters over most of the state.

Across Texas, eastern screech-owls typically nest from February–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.

Afternoon highs regularly exceed 95°F — nest boxes need shade or light-colored, ventilated construction, and water matters as much as food.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before January — 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 Texas, 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 Texas's winter: Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.

Full diet breakdown for eastern screech-owls