Barn Owl first brood ringing results

We've now completed our Barn Owl first brood ringing visits, a month earlier than usual.

In total there were 29 nest attempts, all but one of which were successful.

At the 27 nests revisited for ringing 75 chicks were ringed.

These are the highest numbers in the 5 years of our project.

We know of one second brood attempt already underway, and hope to find more during our September round of checking.

Update: as of 30th Sept we have found 7 attempts at second broods. 

Barn Owl second broods

The young from those Barn Owl nests where egg laying started in March have now either fledged or are close to fledging.

So with a plentiful supply of voles still available, it is likely that several Barn Owl pairs will go on to attempt second broods this year. A further indicator is that few females started their annual moult during their first nesting attempt.

One pair we monitor started laying a second clutch on 5th July, having successfully raised a first brood of 6 chicks. For the second clutch the female moved into a chimney-style Tawny Owl box, located about 500m from the Barn Owl box used for the first brood.