Published August 24, 2025, 11:45 BST
Instead of examining themselves with criminals, Colin Gibson and his team of helpers behind the Howardian Hills National Landscape Conservation Project were busy looking for feathered occupants of the 80 specially developed barn -Eulen boxes, which they made and built on the 79 square miles.
Last year the first three chicks were ringed and now the team is reporting another step forward.
Chris Gibson, who is working with Colin on the project, said: “So far, five boxes paired barley -ahl pairs and a total of eight healthy chicks have been rang this summer.
“Two more had families of small chicks, all of whom will be geared away.
Ringing Owlets is an important maintenance instrument. Each ring bears a clear number that enables individuals to identify and age in the future. In general, chicks flanded two months after hatching and are able to breed the following year. They also tend to stick to the area they know.
Mallard ducks were also in four of the Barn-OWL boxes this year, while an amazing 20 boxes made the amber-like pairs of stocks nest. Stall pigeons were only one clutch of two eggs, but can have four couplings per year. Botedaws and squirrels were also found.
Traditionally barn -eulen, which are nested in tree caves or in old farm buildings. The construction of boxes is crucial for a deficiency in these habitats.
Colin said: “The barn -eulen have suffered over the years because their habitat has gone with old buildings, which they nest to be converted into holiday homes or when they were dangerous.
“We have a lot of Ash-Sterbler and many of these trees are at risk because they are dangerous. So we put a house to life, all nesting boxes that are halfway a success. As soon as you live somewhere, you will be grounded to find out the territory, and it is a success that everything comes together.
“Many people think, owls live in the forest and say they heard an owl because they heard twit-twoo, Hoot Hoot, but that's not the barn owl at all, that is the yellow-brown owl.
“Barn -Ulen screeching and living in open fields. If we are looking for a place for a nesting box, we have to find an area where the habitat is good.
“If there are corn fields, we need the farmers who support us by making a strip outside the field. Yes, they live in buildings, but the fields that surround the buildings must also be there.”
According to Colin, it was important that her feeding habitat is protected.
Small rodents are their main food and to raise a family, an adult couple birds have to catch up with up to 2,000 walls, pointed mice or mice. The farmers help by leaving edges in their fields and also planting areas with wild seeds for pollinators, which is ideal habitat for rodents.
Colin said: “At this time of year -the barn -owls eat young and they have to fight out a day to find the food they need. So people see the barn -owls more often than the common owls.”
Scheunen -Eulen are protected in Great Britain as part of the 1981 wildlife and state law. The population increases due to projects such as the Howardian Hills program.
They were taken from the amber warning list and are now called green species. But they are still of nature conservation. With a wingspan of up to 90 cm, they live in the wild for about four years. An estimate suggests that there can be 4,000 breeding pairs in Great Britain, but nobody knows.
Nick Burrows, a farm nature conservation officer of the National Landsc Affe, said up to 80 percent of British barn owls use artificial boxes.
He said: “We are happy about how the project is developing. It is such an iconic bird, but one who has to struggle in the 20th century. Linking farmers and land managers with conservationists is the key to giving the owl a better future.”