One of the things I've LOVED since being a very small child is nature. Some of my first memories of those out collecting caterpillars, or trying to grab grasshoppers on the lawn, or having found some ladybirds, having them lay eggs all over the plants on my bedroom windowsill. So, naturally, when it comes to the farm, I want to encourage as much biodiversity as possible.
In the UK, owls are a particular conservation concern. We have five main species here - Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Short-Eared Owl and Long-Eared Owl, the latter of which is rather scarce. There have also been recent signs of Eagle Owls as climate change and alternating migration patterns bring these giant birds of prey into British shores.
I would LOVE to have every species on the farm (we, aside from Eagle owls as they'd eat everything in sight). So far on my camping/work trips I've heard tawny owls and have been very lucky to watch a pair of barn owls swooping over the fields as they catch mice, voles and any other little edible creature. Barn owls are very vulnerable to road traffic accidents, however, due to the low flying nature.
In fact, it was reported at the turn of the century that 50% of recorded deaths was because of traffic.
And that was almost 20 years ago, what about now?
One of the answers to is to border major roads with high hedges, meaning that owls have to increase their flight path and are less likely to get struck by traffic. In addition, it's crucial to create as many nesting and hunting sites as possible...and that's where one of my projects comes in.
Owl Nesting Box Project
My owl nesting box project was started as a crowdfunding campaign. I bought one nestbox, and then successfully funded another four - FIVE nest boxes in total. I was totally thrilled. In addition, thanks to Patreons of my YouTube channel, the funding for this project (and others) continues.
The first nestbox was popped high into an oak tree that borders the wildflower meadow - a perfect habitat for owl prey.
So far, I don't think the boxes have been used to rear chicks. There HAVE been barn owls in the vicinity as I found owl pellets beneath the nesting box. These were soaked and broken open to investigate the contents. By using good 'ol Google, it seems almost certain that these WERE barn owl pellets as opposed to tawny owls.
However, it's illegal to disturb barn owl nesting sites during the breeding season without a licence. So as I don't yet have one of these, I've left everything quiet and not yet checked the box. It's been up 18 months now, so for two breeding seasons. This winter I'm going to take the ladder up to the farm and have a little nosy inside and see if anything has happened.
Hopefully in the future we'll have many owlets to come, can get them ringed by an official society and help preserve this beautiful species!
Thanks for reading,
Geoff
You can find me on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Patreon