A hoot morning out

How warm is this September!!  With beautiful sunshine, warm temperatures, and glorious autumnal forage in the hedgerows, it is great to be out and about!

This morning I was out with a colleague checking barn owl nest boxes for potential second broods.  It has been a very good year for BARN OWLS throughout the country, so we were tasked with seeing if ‘our’ barn owls were busy still making babies!

Unfortunately no owl chicks were seen, but one box did have 2 young Stock Doves in!  Most people have a soft spot for owls – with me included – and barn owls have got to be one of the most charismatic of the species found in Britain.

One of the boxes had an adult bird which soon evacuated upon inspection, so a few quick ‘record’ snaps were captured!

At this time of year young barn owls are looking to disperse and set up territories for themselves.  The factors relating to how far they travel is mostly down to the food supply and the availability of dry roost sites.  If you have any ideal habitat near you, with a lovely nest box for them to shelter in, a new barn owl is most likely to turn up at this time of year between August and November, as this is when the juveniles are dispersing.

After work, I popped by the Malta Inn, near Aylesford, where a FIRECREST was calling from the opposite side of the river – superb!!!!