First Tawny Owl egg of 2018

Tawny Owl(f) with first egg

The snow and cold of early March did not delay this female Tawny Owl from egg-laying for very long, as the first egg appeared on 16th March.

Tawny Owl(f) incubating amid snow

But with more snow arriving on easterly winds on 17th March, she probably wishes she'd waited a few more days.

Update:
The clutch was completed with a second egg.
The first chick hatched 16th April.

State of the UK Barn Owl Population 2017

The Barn Owl Trust report on the UK Barn Owl population in 2017 is available by clicking on the following link:

State of the UK Barn Owl population in 2017

A wintry start to spring

Standard advice for siting owl boxes is to face them away from the prevailing south-westerly wind and rain. However the start of March saw a week of snow-storms driven across the UK on strong easterlies.

Tawny Owl(f) on bed of snow!

As a result several of our owl boxes have seen an ingress of snow. Though thankfully it seems not to have disrupted this Tawny Owl unduly (it hadn't yet started laying).

Whether this snowy cold snap has caused an increase in owl mortality, and will lead to a delay in egg-laying this year remains to be seen.