The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Bob Sheppard and I checked a few Barn Owl sites this week to make some assessment as to what state Barn Owls are in for the 2009 season to be able to give some initial guidance for the national BOMP volunteers (BOMP = Barn Owl Monitoring Programme - see BTO website).
We were pleased to find one of our regular females again on a fen near Bourne, alive and well. She was ringed as a chick in 1995, and was found breeding nearby in 1996, and again in 1997 and 1999 but was not seen again until 2006 and 2007. We did not find her in 2008, but have done this year, so at 13yr9mths she is not far off the British record of 14yr1 mths.
We then had a little scare last night when a farmer on the same fen rang us to say that he had found a ringed Barn Owl that had killed itself against a fence. Fortunately it turned out to be not 'our' female or her mate, but a nearby male which was 'only' 11yrs 9mnths old, having been ringed as a chick in 1997.!

Alan

I have just received notification of a Barn Owl that was ringed as a nestling on 19th June 1996 in Wiilingham Woods, Market Rasen, was found dead at Moortown on 1st February this year - some 13years 6 months after ringing. Not quite as old as yours, Alan!