Tales from the nestbox: Column by Lewis Raptor and Owl Group

We have a lovely box site in Asserton, Berwick St James, it’s always productive… except for last year when there wasn’t even a roosting owl, 2024 had seven fluffy barn owls.

This year we were pleased to find another brood of seven. New homeowners were living in the house next to the field and they had told us they had seen the adults out hunting regularly, which is always a good sign. Off we went to ring the youngsters and we invited the homeowners to come and see the owls close up..they were thrilled.

All went well and seven chicks were ringed and popped back into a box that had been cleaned out and a nice layer of wood shavings put in. Early June comes and I get a phone call from the landowner: a chick is out, far too young to be out of the box. The landowners didn’t have a ladder long enough to reach the box so, off I went to collect the owl. Fortunately, I am now in contact with a local rehabber, who can help in situations like this. Unfortunately, it was fairly obvious that this little one wasn’t likely to survive and it died on the drive home.

A week later, another call, another slightly older bird was on the ground. I collected it and it was painfully thin. Our lovely rehabber had it and due to me being on holiday, looked after it for about three weeks, until we could return it to the box, which we did at the end of June. We can only hope that the remaining six young survived. Most barn owls die within the first year but it’s hard to see them go so early in their lives.

Justine from the Lewis Raptor and Owl Group