Each summer The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group undertake a tour of all their owl boxes included in their barn owl conservation area. We also include the tawny owl boxes that remain after the progressive year-on-year destruction inflicted on them by grey squirrels, which resulted in the unfortunate removal of the majority of the 18 erected. In total, the two types of boxes originally numbered 60 across the area but now stands at approximately 50 in total with most of these now barn owl boxes.

 

 

A member of the group’s volunteer team checking a barn owl box.

 

 

The inspection of these barn owl boxes is required to determine which of them have eggs or young developing within them. It also allows us to keep a record of which ones the barn owls are using for purely roosting or for breeding as well. It usually takes place in June at a time when it is assessed that the breeding season is underway. This in turn is dependant on the type of weather that has preceded it in the spring and early summer.

On some occasions when other birds of prey species have been spotted using the boxes, like kestrels or tawny owls who begin breeding earlier than barn owls, an earlier check is undertaken to keep a record of these species as well. Some of the barn owl boxes are returned to each year by these species so observation can easily be kept on them.

The summer inspection of the barn owl boxes takes approximately three full days as the majority of them are in remote areas of countryside, which requires walking for long distances with a ladder to reach them. Normally two people undertake these checks for ease of operation and health and safety considerations.

This year, the earlier season check revealed kestrels breeding in one box and a tawny owl in another. This resulted in 5 kestrel-young and one tawny owlet who, once inspected, were returned to later to ring and record. These are the pictures of them in their boxes.

 

 

A box found containing 4 tawny owl eggs.

 

 

The mother tawny owl leaving the box as we approached.

 

 

She swooped into a nearby woodland where a specific tawny owl box resided.

 

 

A later check revealed that one tawny owl chick had survived.

 

 

Around it the mother had placed a food store to support it.

 

 

Several weeks later the owlet was ringed and recorded.

 

 

Similarly, kestrels had once again bred in a box favoured by them for many years. 5 kestrel young had resulted.

 

 

A few weeks later when they had reached a sufficient size, they too were ringed and recorded.

 

 

When examining the boxes earlier than normal, often jackdaw young are found. Their presence in the boxes is not popular as jackdaws fill the boxes with mud and twigs which often deters later use by barn owls.

 

 

The other common non-barn owl residents found are stock doves. The two young shown above are almost fully grown.

 

 

The later barn owl inspection of the boxes revealed that in general, the season had begun later this year, for many more eggs and emerging young were found than normal. The total number of eggs found on the initial visit rarely all materialise into young. This is due to a number not hatching or predation by their siblings if food becomes in short supply. This year we found a high number of young surviving and they all appeared to be well-fed and healthy. These are pictures of some of our findings in a year that has overall, been a good one for breeding barn owls.

 

 

A clutch of barn owl eggs found in one of the boxes this year.

 

 

In several our inspection coincided with the chicks hatching. Two had emerged from this clutch and were tweeting loudly.

 

 

Another box found with chicks emerging from a clutch of eggs.

 

 

This box revealed young that had newly hatched. At this early stage they form an initial down called Neopile to protect them.

 

 

After 12 to 14 days this is replaced by a thicker down called Mesoptile. These are older birds found in another box with this thicker down already grown. At this time the facial disc feathers begin to form and the primary quills begin to emerge with downy tufts.

 

 

In this box the young show this change as barn owl coloration is beginning to emerge. On the 25th day body feathers rapidly begin to grow to replace the down.

 

 

Each box examined reveals chicks at varying stages of growth and calculations are made about when to return when they are large enough to ring and record.

 

 

So acute is the hearing of the parent owls that they usually have left the box before we reach it, however silently we approach. We always pause to admire the graceful elegance of their flight until they disappear from view. They remain one of the most attractive birds in the English countryside.

 

 

We keep detailed records of all our boxes and their usage as a year-on-year comparison of their utilisation and the effectiveness of the surrounding areas to sustain a barn owl population. We also note the condition of the boxes to ensure that maintenance and damage repair are undertaken promptly to ensure a good accommodation standard for potential resident barn owls. This year a lot of maintenance has been undertaken and much repair work and reconstruction has been carried out by our valuable team member, Alan Murray, whose innovative modifications to box design are ensuring that many problems caused by bad weather and damage are overcome.

 

 

During the breeding survey for young, the boxes are simultaneously checked for damage and repaired if necessary. Any redundant jackdaw nests where breeding has finished this year, are removed to enable future use by barn owls. 

 

 

We continue to monitor the population of barn owls within our large conservation area which has seen the scarce, amber-listed barn owl population when we began in 2007, rise to a level which takes it out of the endangered species category. This effort by our group has made a significant local contribution to the national campaign to raise barn owl population numbers within this country and it is one we are duly proud of. We therefore, as a local Sussex nature conservation group, will continue to defend vigorously the barn owl population as part of our broad overall mission to improve survival prospects for countryside and wildlife in our local area. We install, maintain and take full responsibility for all boxes we erect to ensure the best conditions are provided for them.