Donations from the community have enabled a Warminster woman to continue her work supporting owls and kestrels in Wiltshire.
Justine Hadfield travels across the county to monitor birds and ring their young. Last year, she appealed to the community for help after the van she used to carry out her work needed replacing.
She received donations from local people, along with an offer from a local farmer of a second-hand vehicle at a good price, including repairs if needed and a fuel card for 18 months.
Justine adapted the vehicle to make it suitable for use and has already started using it.
“The vehicle is now all kitted out for us to start the new season next April,” said Justine.
“We are hoping for a warm and wet spring to help the voles, in turn helping the owls.
“We would like to thank all those who donated to help us purchase this vehicle, and in turn enabling us to carry on the work started by Nigel Lewis, over 40 years ago.”
Justine has continued the work of Nigel Lewis who, when posted to Warminster in 1983, set up the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Raptor and Owl Project on the Salisbury Plain Training Area at the request of the MOD’s conservation officer.
The project aims to monitor, ring and gather valuable data on owl and kestrel populations, using nest boxes installed in trees and barns.
When Nigel died in 2024, Justine and her friend Mark Fisher inherited his vehicle and continued his work.
The group is hoping for a successful year in 2026, after 2025 was described as an “atrocious” year for owls due to a dry spring and a lack of vegetation preventing breeding. In 2025, they only ringed 11 young barn owls, compared with 144 in 2024, a drop of around 90%. Kestrels fared slightly better, with numbers down by around 50%, as they are able to survive on a more varied diet including small birds and invertebrates.
