Barn Owl nest box checks in full swing
The Essex Barn Owl Conservation project is now in its 6th year, and our volunteer barn owl monitors have been busy checking for signs of occupation in the over 250 nest boxes that have been installed as part of the scheme.
Barn owls have suffered severe population declines over the past few decades, due to changes in land management reducing nesting and hunting habitats, road mortality and increased frequency of extreme weather. The Essex Barn Owl Consevation Project was launched to help reverse these declines. The project works with landowners and land managers across Essex to restore, reconnect and recreate suitable hunting and breeding sites for Barn Owls.
The nest boxes and Barn Owl populations are monitored annually. Once a nest is identified and the chicks are old enough they are ringed by trained experts. All monitoring work is carried out by trained staff and volunteers under license from the British Trust of Ornithology to minimise disturbance to the birds.
Would you like to support the project? You may wish to host or sponsor a nest box or join as a volunteer advisor or monitor. If you would like an advisory visit, or to find out how to get involved please email barnowls@essexwt.org.uk. More information is available here: http://www.essexwt.org.uk/living-landscapes.