Thank you for these videos. Greatly appreciate the work you do. Here in the US heartland, we are seeing a decline in barn owl populations as well. I am hoping to find some folks to get involved with to remedy that. I live in a rural area and have heard their screeches over the fields beyond. Cheers to you. I admire your work.
Thank you! Good luck with your project - there's so much that humans can do to help Barn Owls, it's really worthwhile. You might be interested in our page about US Barn Owls, with dimensions for our recommended nestbox design: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/american-barn-owls/
These videos are GREAT. All the details I needed to know were covered succinctly and authoritatively The nest box building video was clear and simple and the entire process shown step by step in only 8 minutes. I just wish it was true that building the barn owl nest box took only 8 minutes.You guys cheated and sped up the sawing bit ....and the screwing bit for that matter! I'm going to put a timer on it when I start. I'm starting now: off to the builder (4 miles away) to get the wood and screws...etc then to the DIY to replace the worn out drill batteries...then to the shed to find the workbench....hey ho...more like 8 days!! Still, worth it in the end!
Yep - you got us! We figured watching every bit of sawing etc. wasn't exactly riveting viewing - but well done for persevering - definitely worth the effort. Thanks for helping Barn Owls :)
We have a large cattle shed which has sliding doors that are closed at night when cattle are inside but it has a side entrance that is always open is it a risk the barn owls would get confused with the door opening and closing even if there is an alternative entrance?
Thanks for your question. It's highly unlikely that a wind farm would affect Barn Owls. The only confirmed case of a Barn Owl being killed by a wind turbine in the UK was a small domestic turbine, not a tall commercial one. Busy roads are much more dangerous, and we would advise against a nest box near one - but we've not seen any plausible evidence that wind turbines are a danger to Barn Owls in the UK. Please see our website for more info: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/hazards-solutions/barn-owls-wind-turbines/
There’s certainly a value in having two nestboxes available within a few hundred yards of each other - both boxes may well be used by individuals from a pair, rather than a second pair of birds. More info here (scroll down to Hot Tips!) www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-nestbox/
Hi I've made my barn owl box. I can get it 3 metres off the ground in the barn. However I can only make the entrance whole into the barn at about 2.5 metres due to the roof slope. Will that be a problem? Thanks
It just makes it a bit less likely that the new nestbox will be seen by passing Barn Owls. If it gets found, then it should be fine. Let us know how you get on - good luck!
Nice, I will make one, one owl flew right above my head in my barn, so there have to be some, unfortunately I also found a dead young one about 2km away from the barn maybe killed by another bird of prey ?
Great idea to make a box! Nestboxes offer young owls a greater chance of survival. It's very difficult to say what killed the young owl you found without more detail - here's some info about the most common causes of death in the UK: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/barn-owl-life-expectancy/
We've had lots of success over 30 years of making and erecting these sorts of nestboxes. Whether a nestbox gets occupied depends on some variable factors - such as whether the location and local habitat is suitable, and whether the local Barn Owls decide they like it! More here: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-nestbox/
I like that commercial "safety" tether. At least when he falls he won't be far from the bottom of the ladder😂
Thank you for these videos. Greatly appreciate the work you do. Here in the US heartland, we are seeing a decline in barn owl populations as well. I am hoping to find some folks to get involved with to remedy that. I live in a rural area and have heard their screeches over the fields beyond. Cheers to you. I admire your work.
Thank you!
Good luck with your project - there's so much that humans can do to help Barn Owls, it's really worthwhile. You might be interested in our page about US Barn Owls, with dimensions for our recommended nestbox design:
www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/american-barn-owls/
These videos are GREAT. All the details I needed to know were covered succinctly and authoritatively The nest box building video was clear and simple and the entire process shown step by step in only 8 minutes. I just wish it was true that building the barn owl nest box took only 8 minutes.You guys cheated and sped up the sawing bit ....and the screwing bit for that matter! I'm going to put a timer on it when I start. I'm starting now: off to the builder (4 miles away) to get the wood and screws...etc then to the DIY to replace the worn out drill batteries...then to the shed to find the workbench....hey ho...more like 8 days!! Still, worth it in the end!
Yep - you got us!
We figured watching every bit of sawing etc. wasn't exactly riveting viewing - but well done for persevering - definitely worth the effort. Thanks for helping Barn Owls :)
We have a large cattle shed which has sliding doors that are closed at night when cattle are inside but it has a side entrance that is always open is it a risk the barn owls would get confused with the door opening and closing even if there is an alternative entrance?
Can you put a owl box in a cattle shed, that has cattle inside it too. Or will the cows scare the owls away.
Barn Owls will often tolerate regular noise and activity that they're used to, as long as they have somewhere high up to hide away.
What about wind turbines, should you erect a box near a wind farm in a shed
Thanks for your question.
It's highly unlikely that a wind farm would affect Barn Owls. The only confirmed case of a Barn Owl being killed by a wind turbine in the UK was a small domestic turbine, not a tall commercial one.
Busy roads are much more dangerous, and we would advise against a nest box near one - but we've not seen any plausible evidence that wind turbines are a danger to Barn Owls in the UK.
Please see our website for more info: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/hazards-solutions/barn-owls-wind-turbines/
Great Videos
Can you put two or more boxes in a barn?
How far apart should nest boxes be (metres or kilometres)?
Thanks
There’s certainly a value in having two nestboxes available within a few hundred yards of each other - both boxes may well be used by individuals from a pair, rather than a second pair of birds.
More info here (scroll down to Hot Tips!) www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-nestbox/
thank you for this info!!!
Hi
I've made my barn owl box. I can get it 3 metres off the ground in the barn. However I can only make the entrance whole into the barn at about 2.5 metres due to the roof slope. Will that be a problem?
Thanks
It just makes it a bit less likely that the new nestbox will be seen by passing Barn Owls. If it gets found, then it should be fine. Let us know how you get on - good luck!
Nice, I will make one, one owl flew right above my head in my barn, so there have to be some, unfortunately I also found a dead young one about 2km away from the barn maybe killed by another bird of prey ?
Great idea to make a box! Nestboxes offer young owls a greater chance of survival. It's very difficult to say what killed the young owl you found without more detail - here's some info about the most common causes of death in the UK: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/barn-owl-life-expectancy/
How many of these boxes were occupied?
We've had lots of success over 30 years of making and erecting these sorts of nestboxes. Whether a nestbox gets occupied depends on some variable factors - such as whether the location and local habitat is suitable, and whether the local Barn Owls decide they like it!
More here: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-nestbox/