- Nest
Boxes

Recently
the placing of nest boxes has been a valuable
contribution towards ensuring that nest sites are
available to barn owls. During 2000 just 19 pairs of
breeding birds occupied 20 nest sites (one pair abandoned
one site & moved to a second site), 8 of these nests
were in nest boxes.
There
are three basic types of nest boxes:
- External tree
boxes - these are made of 9mm plywood then
varnished & weatherproofed. They placed in
suitable trees where good habitat exists nearby
- External Pole
boxes - these are also made of 9mm plywood then
varnished & weatherproofed. They are mounted
on poles where good habitat exists nearby but
there is no other structure to support the box.
- Internal
Boxes - these are made of 6mm plywood and are
usually left untreated. They are placed in man
made structures where good habitat exists nearby.
Since August 2000 we have been
making nest boxes and began placing them in October 2000.
The outbreak of foot & mouth disease stopped the
placing prematurely but we would have taken a break
during the breeding season anyway. We will resume placing
boxes around mid autumn 2001. If you have control of any
open land or buildings and would like us make an
assesment regarding suitability for nest boxes then
please Contact us. We do not make a charge for these
boxes, they are funded by voluntary donations, membership
fees and sponsorships.
We have found it
most economical to build the boxes ourselves though often
need both financial & physical help to do so.
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