info on barn owls

weeman

Well-Known Member
Up unto a few weeks back I had never seen a barn owl but up to now I've probably seen approx 11 different ones in different locations. Through different times of the day. Is this there breeding time, populations increasing? or have I just been lucky?
 
Barn Owls usually hunt from dusk onwards, however because of the bad weather of late, and the barn owls inability to hunt when it's raining they're forced to hunt in the day or when it's not raining.
 
I don't know the answer to your question Weeman but As you know I'm not far from you and I was just commenting to my wife that I've seen a resident barn owl maybe three or four times in the last fortnight during the daytime when I usualy ony ever spot it once in a blue moon late on a summers evening.
 
I've seen four around Silverdale/Arnside, three around Kirkby Lonsdale, 1 in Thetford and ipswich and around Hutton roof.
Beautiful to see and admire times even mid day.
 
We used to have several round here, now sadly a bit of a rarity. The tawnies are the biggest problem taking over the barns nesting sites they are also quite aggressive towards them.
as far as daylight flying, it was common to see them flying at all times of the day hereabouts particularly in the breeding season. I think lack of nesting sites (barns being converted etc.) is a problem for them but worse has been the weather. This last winter must have been extremely difficult for them as they don't fly in the wet. Finally barns these days don't hold large quantities of mice which used to support barns through the winter.
 
I was watching 1 last night in my nv. It's the first time I have seen 1 in that particular area.
Most common place for me to see them is Framlingham mere/ Castle area.
Great birds to watch. I had never seen a wild Barn Owl before I moved to Suffolk.
 
used to see them everyday growing up,and my mate had a resident barn owl in his attic every year got so regular newspapers came and photo,d them for the news,ive seen two in the last three weeks teatime ish,nice to get them back again,atb doug,
 
We have "our" Barn owl back. In fact it is not the same one as the original succumbed the other year but it must have been old as it had been about for many ... many years. We used to lose the old one during the breeding season but once that was over it was back patrolling our bit of ground and often sitting on the electric pole tension wire only 15-20 feet from the conservatory door.

In fact we saw the Barn Owl only yesterday late afternoon. Our field provides plenty of Mice and Voles and we have Kesterals nesting in a tall tree again this year it looks like. If there is food and somewhere to nest they will colonise.
 
Hope we get lots of good weather in the next month or two because unless they get up to a certain weight they don't lay. There is an owl box behind the high seat on one of my permissions. You could always tell when one of the parents had arrived back as the hissing noise was incredible. Had the pleasure of watching one of them hunting on Friday whilst I was sitting in a different seat. Beautiful birds. If only they ate gralloch. They could have had a right good feed!
 
Young owls finding new territories ?

That tends to occur around October. Youngsters can travel a fair distance too, further than you would imagine.

More likely, they are being seen more now due to the stretching daylight hours which also of course spurs on the breeding season.
 
I started a project a few years ago to get them nesting on all the farms I shoot on. Simply by asking the farmers if I could mount a nest box in each of their barns.
I knocked up the boxes (dimensions are on any barn owl conservation website) out of scrap ply I get my hands on in work, it doesn't have to be good quality or treated as they are under cover and will last for years and up to now I've got them on about 75% of my permissions. Their biggest problem is suitable nest sites. You put a box up and they will find it. I don't know of a single farmer that doesn't like to see barn owls flying around their land. I'm quite chuffed with my results so far, and it also wins you some serious brownie points.;)

ATB Lee
 
Our rescued Barn owl loves to stand out and hood in torrential rain, & is often seen peering at herself in the water filled pig drinker, captive birds can live up to twenty years or so, wonder what the missus has spent on day olds & mice?
 
While a neighbour was having a new lambing shed built, the barn owl that had been resident in the old buildings was hunting all day long on my side of the boundary. The last time I saw it was when a buzzard knocked it out of the air.
 
I have 2 living in the barn next to the house, not as a pair, they live in the barn in different location, they have been heading out very early afternoon, over the last 3 weeks, as early as 15:00 hrs, lovely to watch!
 
we have lots regularly seen them when out foxing, 1 breeding pair in the barn at my friends in Devon, infact 2 weeks ago had a barn owl come to the fox call when out with Paddy and Paul.

They rely heavily on hearing for prey location so this wet and windy weather is not good for them. I would assume like most raptors they are v busy establishing terrotries at present.

D
 
We have a barn owl on the track where I walk the dogs every morning. Although I have the camera with me, their crepuscular preference is making capturing a decent image a bit of a challenge. I can see an f2.8 telephoto being added to the shopping list!

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...or upgrade the body to a D750 (I just bought one for low light shots).

Still lovely shots & the blur helps with their slightly ghostly presence.
 
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