Barn Owls in and around the Parish

The Broxton Barn Owl Group has erected a number of barn owl boxes around the Parish and this is the time of year when their volunteers inspect the boxes to check on breeding success. One such box was found to have 3 female owlets, between 44-53 days old and not yet fledged. This is the average number of young usually found, but up to 7 have been found in a good year.

The age of the owlet is measured by the length of the primary wing feathers, and determining their sex is easy since the female has spots! The adults were not to be seen; at this time they leave the nest returning only to feed the young. They are more or less monogamous. They had not nested in this particular box for 5 years so it was very good to see that they had returned. Despite the cold and wet winter, and now the drought, they seem to be doing very well.

The three owlets were weighed and ringed, they "play dead" as a way of managing this intrusion, after which they were returned to their box. See photographs (click on each to enlarge)

10 amazing Barn Owl facts: (from the Barn Owl Trust CLICK HERE)

1.Barn owls eat voles shrews, mice and sometimes young rats!
2.They catch their prey by their super sensitive hearing, they have lop sided ears, one higher than the other which helps them to pinpoint exactly where tiny sounds are coming from.
3. They usually eat about 4 small mammals every night -(that's 1460 per year!)
4.They swallow food whole. Owl pellets, which were found on the ground beneath the box, are regurgitated fur and bone showing what the owl has been eating.
5.Barn owls have very long legs, toes and talons to help them catch prey hidden in long grass.
6.Barn owls screech, they never hoot (Tawny owls hoot!)
7.They usually hunt at night, even in total darkness .
8.Barn owls' large eyes are very sensitive too, they can quickly spot a mouse moving in a very gloomy barn.
9. Barn owl feathers are super soft; this helps them to hunt silently but they are not very waterproof and get soaked if it rains!
10. The scientific name for barn owl is Tyto alba alba.

For more information on barn owls in and around the Parish and if you wish to get involved in their fantastic local work CLICK HERE