Owls, like many species of native birds, are threatened by urbanization activities that reduce nesting sites and threaten food supplies.  By hosting an owl in the garden, you can contribute to conservation of the species, and you might get some free pest control.

You may have read stories about owls that eat thousands of rodents during a season.  The owls in these reports are barn owls, who prefer open fields and farms where rodents are plentiful.  The owl you are most likely to attract in the Dallas area is the Eastern Screech Owl.  This small owl is native to woodland habitats but readily adapts to life in the suburbs and will happily occupy a nest box provided there is a mate and a food source

Unlike barn owls, whose diet consists primarily of rodents, screech owls eat a variety of things. According to CornellLab, a screech owl diet can include frogs, lizards, rats, mice, squirrels, moles, rabbits, and other birds.  Small birds taken as prey include flycatchers, swallows, thrushes, waxwings and finches, as well as larger species such as jays, grouse, doves, shorebirds and woodpeckers. Keep this in mind if you have a beloved pair of songbirds that return each year to nest in your yard; the screech owl will consider them fair game.

It is also important to consider whether your yard provides a safe habitat for the owl. When hunting, owls are frequently killed in collisions with cars, so avoid attracting owls to high traffic areas.  If you have nesting hawks or larger owls in the area, know that these birds prey on screech owls. Most importantly, ensure that no rat poisons are being used in the vicinity.  Many owls and other birds of prey are killed annually when they eat rodents that have ingested rat poison.

https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/raptors-and-rodenticides

If you have determined that your yard is a place an owl would want to be, the next thing to do is put up a nest box. Every species of owl has its preferred nest type and site. For information and instructions on how to build and place the nest box, visit:

https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/attracting-owls-to-your-backyard

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/lifehistory#habitat

https://txtbba.tamu.edu/species-accounts/eastern-screech-owl/

https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/raptors-and-rodenticides