rickysnodgrass So we are off to flying start with 2019, as long as that flying happens at night, in large open areas and from a little house on top of a pole. That’s just a few of the things we picked up from our talk this month.
A brilliant talk again on a slightly different topic, I for one found it very informative, and welcome change at this time of year, when there is not an awful lot to do across our gardens. I think it was evident that team at Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project do a lot of great work and are very dedicated and knowledgeable about looking after the owls.
As always, here are our top points to take away from this month:1
- Female owls have brown under their faces and under wing
- They are ringed to track, with information to report it
- Barn owls like open planes, especially the edge of woods
- Captive owls live longer than wild
- There are 170 boxes in rushcliffe area
- The 50s/60s saw a drastic decline
- 1.4 million miles of hedgerow gone and barn conversions are a main problem
- Roadkill is one of the biggest killers of barn owls.
- They will nest in natural sites, like tree holes
- Barn owls are not very vocal, Tawny owls are the ones you hear in villages
Hopefully this is a nice recap of some of the things we learnt. The project is very active on facebook, so if you want to keep up to date check it out here.
Also a quick reminder that the 18th of February is our next meeting, with Danny Wells’ talk on the history of English Obsession with the gardens. 7:30pm at the Old School. We look forward to seeing you there.
