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Press Releases - July/August 2007
Item 5
No. 2007/07/63
July 2007
Barn Owls weather the storm.
It may have been a miserable summer
for many of us, but a pair of Barn Owls in Nottinghamshire has managed
to overcome the weather and take advantage of this year’s
bumper crop of voles to raise one of the largest broods on record.
When nest recorder and bird ringer Adrian Blackburn went to visit
one of the nest boxes that he had erected on a local farm, he was
stunned to find a brood of eight chicks staring back at him, all
in good health and many of them almost ready to leave the nest.
Adrian said: “In the 19 years I’ve been monitoring
Barn Owls, this is the largest brood I’ve ever seen. What’s
even more amazing is that the parents have managed to keep them
all properly fed during such a wet summer, when you’d think
they would struggle to hunt. There’s definitely been plenty
of voles for them to eat, though – the adults have stored
piles of them in many of the boxes.”
Each year, volunteer nest recorders like Adrian submit the information
about the number of chicks and eggs in the nests they monitor to
the Nest Record Scheme at the British Trust for Ornithology.
“It’s very unusual for a pair of Barn Owls to rear
eight chicks to this age,” said Dr Dave Leech, Head of
the Scheme. “Since the Nest Record Scheme started in 1939,
we’ve received over 10,000 records of Barn Owl nests and this
is only the fifth record of a brood this large. The female can lay
as many as 10 eggs in one clutch, but even if they all hatch, the
smaller chicks are usually out-competed for food and so fail to
survive.”
Please see over for Notes for Editors
Notes for Editors
- Barn Owls are primarily nocturnal hunters,
feeding mainly on small mammals, especially field voles. Once
Britain’s commonest owl, numbers fell substantially between
the mid 19th and late 20th Centuries, with persecution, habitat
loss and increased pesticide use all playing a part. Test estimates
suggest that there are between 4,000 and 4,500 pairs of Barn Owl
in the UK.
- The BTO Nest Record Scheme (NRS) www.bto.org/survey/nest_records
gathers vital information on the productivity of the UK’s
birds, using simple, standardised techniques. NRS data are analysed
annually and the results are published in the ‘Breeding
Birds in the Wider Countryside’ report along with information
on species’ abundance obtained through other BTO monitoring
schemes. Nest record data are also used to investigate the causes
of species-specific trends in breeding success. The NRS is funded
by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology and the
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of Natural England,
Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales,
and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service in
Northern Ireland).
- Bird ringing in Britain and Ireland is organised
and co-ordinated by the BTO. The BTO also host the EURING databank
which holds ring recovery data gathered by bird ringing schemes
throughout Europe, for further information please see, www.bto.org/ringing/index.htm.
Part of the BTO Ringing Scheme is funded by a partnership of the
BTO and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of
Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside
Council for Wales, and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage
Service in Northern Ireland). The scheme also receives support
from Duchas the Heritage Service – National Parks and Wildlife
(Ireland). The volunteer ringers give freely of their time and
expertise and also provide a substantial part of the Scheme’s
funding.
- The BTO is the UK’s leading bird research
organisation. Over thirty thousand birdwatchers contribute to
the BTO’s surveys. They collect information that forms the
basis of conservation action in the UK. The BTO maintains a staff
of 90 at its offices in Norfolk and Stirling, who analyse and
publicise the results of project work. The BTO’s investigations
are funded by government, industry and conservation organisations.
- Bird Information. For lots of facts and figures
about birds go to www.bto.org/birdfacts
- The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.
For further information please contact:
Dr Dave Leech on 01842 750050 (during office hours) email:
Paul Stancliffe on 01842 750050 (during office hours),
email:
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