ABOUT US

Cliff and Julie Shackelford are professional biologists living and working in Texas. In 2022 after 30 years, Cliff retired as the State Ornithologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). He has published over 90 articles and peer-reviewed papers about birds and birding including the book Hummingbirds of Texas by Texas A&M University Press, first published in 2005.  Since 2013, Cliff has hosted a popular live radio show about birds on National Public Radio’s Red River Radio station that airs in parts of 4 states.  The radio show can also be streamed online and the show has received calls from listeners in 11 states.  Julie works for a non-profit land conservation organization protecting habitat for birds and other wildlife. They are both avid birdwatchers who enjoy traveling.

Cliff has been making Owl Shack owl houses since graduate school in the early 1990s, but really got started during Christmas in the early 2000s when he made over 35 as gifts for TPWD officemates. These owl houses were such a hit that folks started to order more for family and friends. And the interest kept growing and growing so our hobby has gone gangbusters. We’ve sold and shipped Owl Shacks to nearly 30 states.  The design has evolved over the years to what we believe is the best owl house ever – and it’s the first small owl box with a “wide mouth” entrance that enables homeowners to have incredible views of their owl as shown in our Gallery here.  There are imitations available online but Owl Shacks have been successfully hosting owls longer than any other owl boxes available on the market.  Each and every Owl Shack is handmade by us in our garage. We are proud members of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Go Texan program which promotes products made in the Lone Star State. Best of all, the owls love our Owl Shacks and we hope you’ll order one so that you can enjoy one, too!