|
Yesterday, I was re-united with an old friend, being the very first Barn Owl I retrapped/controlled when I started studying owls in 1996. She had been ringed as a chick by Bob Sheppard in a barn loft in June 1995, and I found her breeding the following year in a box mounted on a drainage board pump station just 3km away. She successfully raised broods in 1996, 97, 98 & 99 in the same box. She has not used that box since, and one would assume she had passed away as Barn Owls are not particularly long lived. However, yesterday I found her sitting on four eggs in a new box on another pump station just 2km further up-river. As she is still alive and well after 11 years, she may yet go on to break the record of the oldest British Barn Owl, found dead after 13 years, though she still has some way to go to take the European record from one in the Netherlands at 17 years.
The annual check of the boxes in the above scheme produced 12 pairs of Barn Owls, and just 2 pairs of Kestrels, with some more boxes still to check. Barn Owls seem to be having an OK year, with smaller clutches and being two-weeks late, but not as bad as originally feared. Jackdaws seem to be having a better year than the poor years of late and 140 chicks were ringed over the last two days.
Little Owls seem to be doing well this year with 21 pairs this year in our boxes.
Finally - I should just remind everyone that Barn Owls nests should only be checked, by experienced people under a special licence. All 12 female and four male Barn Owls found yesterday were all carefully placed back in their boxes with no birds flying off afterwards.
Alan
|
Login
FAQ
Search
