Tuesday 14 January 2014

Field Margins Work


Worries have began to surface about what effect the recent prolonged wet weather would have on the Barn Owl population which was, at best, fragile after what was a troubled 2013. One of  our most environmentally committed farmers had recently been maintaining the six-metre field margins that run all around his land so I decided to take a look to see if any birds were still on territory.  The benefit that these strips bring is fully exploited by Barn Owls as they provide a haven for their favourite food, the field vole. 


Six-metre field margins.

Encouragingly the fantastic habitat has encouraged a pair of Barn Owls. The male has been on site since 2012 but he seems to have lost his mate from last year and he now has a new partner, a two-year old female. Both birds were in fantastic condition and there is no reason why they should not stay to breed later in the year. 


New female on territory.


Resident Male

No comments:

Post a Comment