Barn Owls at Tongue End

Earlier this year we put the owl box up in the Tongue End field with the expectation of owls.  But having visited the field more times than I can count over the last several months I have been greeted with all manner of birds living in and perching on the solitary pole and box.  Every sort of winged creature … with the exception of an owl.

I had quietly resigned myself to the fact that it probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon, and with further reading and speaking with the specialists it was becoming clear that there may be a wait involved.  It is seemingly quite rare for owls to take up residence so shortly after it’s installation.  But we had a lot going for us.  The location is ticking a lot of boxes, the field is a perfect hunting ground, the box faced in the perfect direction to catch the early sun and protect from prevailing winds and was pointed out across the fields. 

As part of the pole and box installation comes regular inspections and survey’s as part of the Welland Drainage Board’s programme to maintain and support habitats and today we received word that two barn owl chicks were present in our owl box.  Surprising but incredible news and one we’ve excitedly sharing locally, I’ll expect to see spotters out and dawn and dusk over the coming weeks.

Because this is fairly new for us we’ll be following guidance and have decided to ease off on our cutting plan to let them get settled.  We’ll continue with the planned spraying around this years planted trees and hedgerows to minimise the competition and give them a chance to get established before going into the winter.