Barn Owl

The Barn Owl nestbox scheme was initiated to bring back the Barn Owl into the area around the Washburn Valley and Wharfedale, where it has been all but extinct as a breeding species for over 25 years.

The initial signs are a slow but steady population increase with new sites being taken up every year since 2002. It is hoped that this will lead to a self sustaining population throughout the study area over the next few years. Although the bulk of the suitable sites now have nestboxes we are always looking to increase the scheme where appropriate and also to advise and liase with farmers and landowners to conserve and create habitat which is optimal for Barn Owls.

2007 saw breeding pairs in nest boxes at three sites with occupancy at a further four sites. A male bird breeding a few miles south-east of Harrogate had been ringed as a chick in a nestbox near Pocklington in 2005. A female bird at another site was ringed as one of a brood of four birds in one of our nestboxes seven kilometres away the previous year.

Since 2004 64 Barn Owls have been ringed.

All nest monitoring and ringing is done under a schedule one licence.

	Fullgrown	Pulli	Total
2009	13	13	26
2008	12	12	24