BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND......................................................MEDITTERANEAN GULLS CONDER POOL PETE WOODRUFF

Monday 30 December 2013

The Barn Owl.

Image Permitted.

This image is the sorry sight of a dead Barn Owl caught by the wing during the very windy weather we've had recently. The bird was photographed over the Christmas holiday and is seen hanging from one of two electricity lines which crosses the road from Rose Bank Farm to Hawksdale Pasture Farm, Nr Dalston, Carlisle which now is a new development. How long would this beautiful bird have suffered prior to its untimely death, an example of the kind of hazzard birds have to live with in a modern world with cables, wires, wind turbines and extreme bad weather.


Barn Owl Brian Rafferty 

A hundred years ago the Barn Owl was a common farmland bird, but if this year is anything to go by this beautiful bird is now far more scarce than it was in the 1980's when it was estimated to have declined by a massive 70% since 1932. This year is being described by conservationists as the worst Barn Owl breeding season for over thirty years. 

A run of extreme weather events since 2009 has devastated Barn Owls. The final blow was March this year when mortality kept increasing and by the end of the month huge numbers were dead. At a time when Barn Owls should have been thinking of breeding there was an increase in reports of dead birds many of which had starved.

Numbers were already low due to the bitterly cold winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 and the extremely wet summers of 2010 and 2011. But things were looking good in 2012, the weather in March was excellent and the owls started breeding earlier and by late May nests were being found with as many as seven well-grown owlets. But in June it all went badly wrong, the rains started and the adults were prevented from hunting and many young birds starved, in some cases full broods of owlets were found dead in the nest.

There are some terrible statistics surrounding the Barn Owl in 2013, out of in excess of 275 sites monitored Barn Owls were nesting at only 7 of which just 4 had young with others abandoned. In another monitored area, 120 sites - usually with 36 nests - had just 4 occupied. Outside the UK in Hungary, out of 30 regular nests in one area only one active was found with a solitary bird, a situation regarded as pretty much the case all over Hungary.

No doubt these records are reflected in our area in particular around the Rawcliffe/Pilling farmlands, and although I have no accurate reports to hand I know of one observer who has found dead Barn Owls and recognised fewer sightings and low numbers at traditional locations, I hope to be privileged with some local information in the New Year. 

On a brighter note....a much brighter note. 



The Waxwings are coming, with ten seen in Warrington, Cheshire and other locations around the UK recently....Believe it or not, they have been recorded in the UK throughout the year.

Thanks to BR for the Barn Owl, and GJ for the Waxwing..html?Id=150#cat20

7 comments:

  1. Hi Pete!
    Too bad we meet as beautiful in those conditions animal, after all we humans, are to blame for his death ...
    Love the photos and your blog in general, I'm Spanish, sorry for the spelling errors haha
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
    A hug ;)

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  2. Too many sorry stories like this Pete, how much more can our wildlife take ?

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  3. It's a very sad situation, Pete. With several estimates of around 75% of Barn Owls lost last winter (it's my guess that my own area has suffered similarly), it stands to reason that the loss of breeding pairs must be much higher than this. I have a friend who has a pair of Barnies nesting in his garden. This year was the first in 13 years that they've not bred. He now realises that he was lucky to keep both his birds and is setting up to provide supplemental feeding, should the situation turn bad again.

    I believe that Tawnies and Little Owls have similarly suffered. Many of the LOs that I monitor have disappeared, and the breeding rate was dismal.

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  4. A very sad story Peter.I`ve been looking to photograph the barn owl for a couple of months now,but my searching has drawn a blank.I`ve been to all the old haunts and more besides and haven`t even seen a barn owl never mind photographed one.

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  5. Hi Pete!!!.. Wonderful pictures and header.. I wish you a happy 2014 .. Kisses from Spain.. See you next year.. Ha.. :-)))

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  6. Pete. Yes it is sad to hear of the decline in Barn Owl numbers.Like Martin I have also been searching in vain this winter for Barnie.Current very wet and stormy weather is not good either.Hopefully things will improve as we go into the New Year.Meanwhile Pete take care and all the best to you and Kathleen in 2014.

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  7. So terribly sad about the barn owl decline - so many similar stories as far as our wildlife goes - heart wrenching! Great news to hear about the waxwings being around - and hope I get to see some in this area. Happy New Year to you Pete - I've neglected the blog and my blogging friends lately - hope you're well x

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