Lincolnshire Barn Owl Project

Wide angle lens fitted

2011-10-10T02:54:00.000-07:00

The chicks were ringed last week and Vic took the opportunity to fit a wide angle lens which has vastly improved the visible area on screen.
Of the three chicks ringed, the smallest was the heaviest.

A hot day in the box

2011-10-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

It is a hot day and the female has chosen to stay in the box. Usually when the chicks are this old she would roost away as their daytime food begging can get tiresome after a while.
If she continues to roost in the box then the bird ringers will not only have three big chicks to ring soon but also an adult.

Chicks doing well

2011-09-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

There are three surviving chicks and they all look very healthy.
Last night Vic saw the adults bring in four feeds in the space of 10 to 15 minutes.

Short Video - 26th September 2011

2011-09-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

Barn Owls - 26th Sept 2011. Live images at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/owlcam.html

Short Video - 23rd Sept 2011

2011-09-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

A short video taken on the 23rd Sept 2011 at approx. 1130am.

Short Video - 21st Sept 2011

2011-09-21T04:37:00.001-07:00

Short video showing the mother and chick's on the 21st Sept 2011

Pole box photo

2011-09-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is the view that Vic and Pauline have from their kitchen window. Wow !
The chicks are growing fast and two of the four have been swallowing small mammal prey whole. The female is still actively hunting at night but spends the daytime in the box. The male only visits with prey.

Short Video - 14t September 2011

2011-09-14T00:54:00.000-07:00

Short Video - 14t September 2011, showing that the chick's are growing quickly.....

Short Video - 13th September 2011

2011-09-13T01:18:00.000-07:00

13th September 2011

All alone - 12th September 2011

2011-09-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

The five chicks and one egg are alone in the box tonight whilst the female is out hunting.
It is unusual for the hen bird to leave chicks at this tender age but the weather conditions have forced her to help the male with the hunting. Barn Owls need to hear their prey rustling in the grass and on windy nights they struggle to hunt successfully.
The female has been out for the past four nights. On a cold night the youngsters would struggle to maintain warmth but fortunately the nights have been mild and Mum is soon back to brood them. The remaining egg won't hatch now and will eventually disappear.

Doing well - 9th September 2011

2011-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

The eldest chick is now two weeks old. It is warm in the box today and so there is no need for the female to brood it.
Five chicks have hatched and a further egg can be seen occasionally.

A short length of video taken on the 9thSept 2011 showing the female bird preening.

Short Video - 6th September 2011

2011-09-06T02:34:00.000-07:00

Video taken on the 6th September 2011, showing the adult female, at least one chick and at least one unhatched egg.

2011-09-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

The female bird incubating - 4th September 2011.

New Barn Owl WebCam

2011-09-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Vic Atkinson, a Lincs Bird Club member who is based on the edge of Horncastle, we have access to another Barn Owl box.

Live images can be found at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/owlcam.html.

The birds were sat on seven eggs, with 4 hatching over the last few days.

We will be blogging regular update at http://lincsbarnowls.blogspot.com/
Andrew

3rd August 2011

2011-08-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

The owls are now roosting away from the box so we have mothballed the camera ready for next year.
It has been a fascinating experience watching the progress of the owlets from egg to fledging.
Particular thanks to Andrew the owner of the box and to our sponsors Northern Optics.
See you next year everybody!

1st August 2011

2011-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

The young owls are now able to fly quite well and can roost away from the nest box if they wish. One bird has done this occasionally during the past week. However, as this photo today (excuse the spider's web on the lense) shows they often prefer to return to the box during the day. It provides a safe place to rest before the night's activities. They are away from the sharp eyes of corvids who will mob them mercilessly if they find them out in the open in daylight!

July 21st 2011

2011-07-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday two of the owlets flew to the nearby river bank and then to the perch outside the box. This was their first flight. Tonight the third chick joined them.

July 8th 2011

2011-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

The chicks have grown so fast this past week. The eldest is eight weeks old tomorrow!
They are like hyperactive children in the box, constantly moving around.
The eldest is capable of clumsy flight now, but pole box chicks are usually more circumspect. In barns, where there are beams to fly to, they often try their luck!
In another week the eldest chick will probably make a short flight and perch on top of the box.

July 4th 2011`

2011-07-04T08:06:00.001-07:00

The owlets' wing feathers are forming well and last night they appeared at the nest entrance awaiting food. It won't be long before they attempt their first short flights.

27th June 2011

2011-06-26T13:48:00.001-07:00

The oldest chick is 6 weeks old today. All three owlets now weigh more than either of their parents! The chicks snore and preen constantly at this age and they still sleep for long periods. The swift transformation from " ugly duckling" to beautiful Barn Owl is now underway.
It is amazing to think that the older chick will be capable of flying short distances in just over two weeks time. Both parents are actively hunting to cater for the owlets' huge appetites.

13th June 2011

2011-06-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

The chicks look in peak condition today. Between 8-30pm and 9-30pm tonight the male and female brought in a total of six voles. It looks like the male is finally getting his act together!

12th June 2011

2011-06-12T00:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the three chicks were ringed under licence by Alan Ball. They were very healthy and full of food!

7th June 2011

2011-06-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day that the chicks have been left alone in the box.
This often happens to Barn Owls at this age as the parents want a bit of peace before the night's hunting begins. They will roost nearby.

6th June 2011

2011-06-06T15:31:00.001-07:00

It's half past eleven at night and the chicks look well as they await another feed.

6th June 2011

2011-06-06T03:48:00.000-07:00

A chilly start to the day so Mum was brooding the chicks for an hour or two.

4th June 2011

2011-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

The eldest chick is now three weeks old and is bigger than his siblings, particularly the tiniest chick which is just 15 days old. They all look healthy but the continuing absence, for long periods, of the adult male bird will cause concern if the weather deteriorates. At the moment the hen bird is managing very well.

3rd June 2011

2011-06-04T05:12:00.000-07:00

Within 10 minutes the hen bird was back with a shrew which the eldest chick swallowed whole.

3rd June 2011

2011-06-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

The owner of the nest box has been making regular observations and has noticed that the cock bird is not working very hard to bring prey. Normally the female only begins to hunt after the chicks are 16 days old. However, from last week, she had to leave the youngest at just 11 days old to find food. Her mate needs to up his game if they are ever to raise more than 3 chicks in the future. The ability and inclination of the male to hunt is thought to be the second most important factor in the success of a brood of Barn Owl chicks. The first , of couse, is abundance of field voles as prey.
This is just after 9-30 pm and she is out hunting!

3rd June 2011

2011-06-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

It had been so hot all day that even at 8 o'clock in the evening the female was sitting off the chicks.

3rd June2011

2011-06-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

The web cam is working again now. Well done to Andrew for all your hard work.
The chicks don't like the hot weather in some nest sites, as viewers to BBC Springwatch will have seen. Pole box broods don't suffer so much because of the way the box is designed.

no picture

2011-05-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

The webcam is temporarily down but will soon be up and working again.

26th May 2011

2011-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today the eldest chick is 12 days old.
There are two main changes that it will have undergone. The main change is in its plumage, which will now change to its denser second coat which is downy and white. This keeps it warmer so that, eventually, the female can leave to go hunting herself.
The chick also opens its eyes for short periods from today. It must look like a strange world!

The Barn Owl Project Nestbox

2011-05-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

An image showing the barn owl nestbox.

21st May 2011

2011-05-21T01:06:00.001-07:00

Great news this morning as we now have a full brood of three chicks! The third arrived at 7am yesterday morning.
Let's hope there is plenty of food for them and they all make it to fledging!

19th May 2011

2011-05-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

The Barn Owl camera in mid Lincs is up and running again thanks to sterling work from Colin Shawyer and Andrew Chick.
The first egg was laid in the pole box on 12th April, the second on 15th April and the third and final egg on 18th April.
Two chicks have hatched so far with another one expected any time now.
The first chick emerged on 14th May and the second on 17th May.

1st August 2010

2010-08-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

The two owlets are now flying well, but have been returning to the box during the daytime. We suspect that they will leave the box totally, within the next week or so as they become more independent. They now have plenty of time to master their hunting skills before the onset of winter.

18th July - fingers crossed

2010-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

The chicks are not always in view, as they can wander out of sight of the camera to the entrance of the box. These two chicks have survived the wet and windy weather this week. Many other owlets have not been so lucky, as recent checks of some nest sites suggest that between a quarter and a third of young Barn Owls have died of starvation over the past week, because the adults were unable to go out hunting in either wet or windy conditions. Even very large chicks at 6/7 weeks old, (same age as these two) have not survived................a very sad state of affairs.

12th July 2010

2010-07-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

The two chicks are now six weeks old and appear to be doing well. Two chicks seem to be the normal brood size in the area around this box. Barn Owls in some areas seem to have been affected badly during the cold spell earlier in the year, with the result that they have laid fewer eggs than normal. In a good year Barn Owls will average 4 or so young per brood. Hopefully these two chicks will fledge successfully.

Video footage from 15th May 2010

2010-06-24T05:45:00.001-07:00

Two birds in a box!

Video footage from 2nd May 2010

2010-06-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

Video footage of the 3rd egg - 2nd May 2010

Video footage from 29th April 2010

2010-06-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Video footage of the 2nd egg - 29th April 2010

Video footage from 26th April 2010

2010-06-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

Video footage of the first egg - 26th April 2010

23rd June 2010

2010-06-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

First live images from the Barn Owl box, taken 23rd June 2010

2010-06-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

The camera was installed last Christmas. From mid March the owls were sometimes in the box, but from the beginning of April the female was ever present.

Three eggs were laid.
Egg 1 on 26th April
Egg 2 on 29th April
Egg 3 on 2nd May

A month later the chicks hatched.
Chick 1 on 27th May
Chick 2 on 30th May
Chick 3 on 2nd June

Since then they have had mixed fortunes. The heavy rains on two days in early June meant hunting was difficult. The male didn’t provision the nest as much as he should, leading us to believe he could have another mate in a nest nearby. Somehow, the chicks made it through.
However, on the morning of 16th June, one of the babies was eaten by a sibling. This is not uncommon in Barn Owls.
Later that day, the female and remaining two chicks were ringed under licence.
Soon the chicks will be big enough to be left in the evenings whilst the female hunts as well.

Lincolnshire Barn Owl Project

2010-06-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

We are fortunate in Lincolnshire that we have the most breeding Barn Owls anywhere in the UK and they breed at the highest density in the UK. There are approximately 900 pairs in Lincolnshire.
This camera is in a pole box in the paddock behind a house in a village north of Sleaford.
The box has been up for three years but this year is the first time the owls have been successful. The chicks were predated at an early stage in 2009.