Dear Treeman & Igreen,
Thank you for your interest and suggestions. This is a house for barred owls made by Bob May & Lee Baker of Workshop Creations, who seem to know a lot about birds (www.workshopcreations.com). We regularly hear and see barred owls around our house. We originally thought that 20 feet was not that high, until we tried to set a flimsy 20 foot ladder against the tulip poplar tree! I’d be clinging to it so tightly that there is no way I could work with a drill up there.
We are intrigued by Igreen’s suggestion. It sounds like it would be less injurious to the tree. However, the house has a clean-out hatch on the side, so it may not need to be taken down to clean it. Though someone still needs to get at it each year for cleaning. We are also excited that Treeman has offered to help us.
Please call us so we can talk about this further at 404-635-4307 (evenings after 7pm and weekends).