Sadly we are still to see an appearance of a resident in our Barn Owl box. We will continue to look out for opportunities to re-home one and maybe we’ll pick up a passing tenant!
To put things in context here are some facts about Barn Owls in Staffordshire – taken from a talk From Barns to Boxes given by the Staffordshire Barn Owl Action Group at the SinCH Green Drinks evening social in July
· With loss of nesting sites (barns converted to houses) and of habitat (rough pasture and wildflower meadow) they suffered a huge decline nationally between the 1930 and 1980s.
· 75% of known nest sites in the UK are now boxes and this is gradually helping, along with habitat restoration, to stabilise and even increase the population.
· Barn Owl Action Group volunteers
erect nest boxes in suitable sites, ring the chicks and monitor the numbers of birds.
· In additional to lack of nesting sites and habitat change they face other challenges include:
◦ Traffic collisions.
◦ Pesticides and rodenticides also take their toll.
◦ Their plumage is not waterproof so, if waterlogged, they can succumb to the cold and starvation - hence their need for barns and nest boxes.
◦ They are not long lived birds (3 - 4 years) and, whilst they produce a lot of young, the numbers that make it to adulthood are small.
· There are now only 5,400 pairs nationally.
· In 2022 only 57 pairs were verified in Staffordshire, although numbers will be higher as not all nest boxes are checked each year.
· If you are interested in joining the Barn Owl Action Group, email Helen at swtboag@staffs-wildlife.org.uk for more information. Please say where you live approximately.