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Barn Owl Survey Website – a new nationwide project of the BOT
May 2013
You can now report your Barn Owl sites and sightings (both dead and alive) anywhere in the UK on-line.
www.barnowlsurvey.org.uk is a project of the Barn Owl Trust launched on 1st May 2013.
With an Identification Guide to check the bird or the signs you saw really were Barn Owl you can report where, when and what you saw. The site map will give you a 10 figure map reference and latitude, longitude and elevation for your sighting.
By creating a unique logon you can return to the site and review your records at any time.
David Ramsden MBE, Head of Conservation at the Barn Owl Trust said “The new website makes it really easy for people to report Barn Owl sightings, roosts and nest sites. Receiving reports from the public is an important part of our population monitoring and allows us to target our conservation work to where it is most needed”.
Have you seen a wild Barn Owl since the cold weather?
Winter snow and low spring temperatures have more than doubled the mortality of Britain’s most popular farmland bird – the Barn Owl. Now the charity dedicated to their survival has launched a nation-wide appeal for sightings of these beautiful birds to be reported on-line.
Barn Owl Trust Head of Conservation, David Ramsden MBE announced “We are extremely concerned that few birds have survived to breed this year and are asking everyone who sees a Barn Owl to report it to us on-line”. Today sees the launch of a new website: www.barnowlsurvey.org.uk where anyone can report a Barn Owl sighting.
The website also provides a comprehensive identification guide for the birds and their signs with a huge gallery of images and sound clips to allow you ensure the bird you saw really was a Barn Owl. The Trust is keen to record reports of all wild Barn Owls – whether dead or alive.
With Barn Owl numbers being so low most people will never see one of these wonderful birds in the wild. But for those that are lucky, this site provides an opportunity to record exactly where and when you saw the owl and what it was doing.
www.barnowlsurvey.org.uk was built for the Trust by www.mapmate.co.uk
Three New BOT Slideshows to see
March 2013
If you have a few minutes to spare check out the Trust’s three new slideshows:
The tale of our Wildlife Tower
Western Power apprentices build us an aviary
Each one opens in a new window.
Enjoy!
BBC Wildlife Magazine - Barn Owl Fact File
The April issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine - on sale from 13th March features an 11-page special on Barn Owls. In an article written by travel and nature writer Pete Dommett you can read about community projects to support these wonderful birds. Pete was a conservation officer with the Barn Owl Trust back in 1999 and returned to visit us here in Devon whilst writing the article. The issue also has 'top tips' for Barn Owl sightings and how to improve your Barn Owl photography.
Go to the BBC Wildlife Magazines website to read the Barn Owl Fact File we helped produce!
Moving Pictures
With the Barn Owl breeding season almost upon us we’ve been excited that a second bird has appeared in the nestcam site – throughout February just the male had been seen but as at the beginning of March a pair is being seen again. You can visit the Nestcam to watch live or read the Nestcam Diary to see the latest news. By selecting our YouTube link you can see all of our videos including footage of owlets from previous breeding seasons. We have also included a link to an 8+ minute piece of footage of Barn Owlets 2012 put together by '@xXskyfalconXx' from last year’s nestcam showing the owlets in the nestbox and flying around inside the Barn.
To find out more about the Trust watch our three minute video to see what we do and why or if you want to learn more about the birds we have a selection of short videos:
An introduction to the Barn Owl – over 95,000 folk have viewed this video to date
Providing a home for Barn Owls
Enjoy.
See Wildlife Words Poetry Competition results here
February 2013
Barn Owl Hunting Slideshow
January 2013
Wildlife photographer Ed MacKerrow from Mountain Horizon Photography has provided a link to his stunning Barn Owl photographs featuring a Barn Owl hunting in snow. The link on the right will take you to the slideshow where you can see the owl catching a vole and then carrying its prey as it flies towards the camera. All of these photos are of wild owls catching wild prey. You can then explore the other amazing photographs on his site.
Ed is a huge fan of the Barn Owl Trust and has used the Barn Owl Trust online information to setup a network of Barn owl nest boxes in New Mexico. He has also generously offered to donate 20% of the profits from the sale of any of his Barn Owl photographs to the Trust and provide images for the BOT 2013 Christmas cards.
2013 Devon County Barn Owl Survey
January 2013
This year will see Devon’s Barn Owl population surveyed by the Barn Owl Trust for the third consecutive decade, there were previous surveys in 1993 and 2003.
In 2003 we checked/recorded 1,176 sites and recorded 281 nests and 348 roost sites. This year we hope to do even more!
Anyone and Everyone can get involved.
- Submit your own Barn Owl sightings
- Register to become a Survey Volunteer
- Make a donation to support the survey
- Print and display the Wanted Poster - click the link on the right
- Book a walk or talk for your group or school to raise awareness of Barn Owl conservation
- Businesses – make a grant to support a new on-line recording system for the species - contact us for more details
The survey will allow us to identify changes in Barn Owl numbers across Devon and guide conservation work in the county over the next decade, thereby conserving the Barn Owl and its environment for future generations.
Go to the Devon Barn Owl Survey page for more information about the Survey and how to get involved.
Wanted Poster 2013
We suggest a minimum donation of £3 for each download
Together We Can Make a Difference. Thank you!
2013 - Celebrating 25 years as a registered charity.
January 2013
It’s almost impossible to believe that this year the Trust will be 25 years old! Please help to support our work and to celebrate our 25th birthday by promoting the Trust, recruiting new Friends or holding a fund-raising event.
A coffee morning for your friends, a car boot sale, a draw, plant stall, a sponsored something’ or baking cakes for your workmates can all help to raise awareness and funds, best of all they can be fun too.
We can supply leaflets and posters to help you advertise, we can also add your event to our Forthcoming Events page on our website if you would like us to. Whoever you are and wherever you live you can join in. Help support our work and celebrate 25 years of Barn Owl conservation.
If you live in the South West or are visiting Devon do look at our Forthcoming Events list. Come along to an event, meet the team and see how your support really does help. We’d love to see you.
Individuals, groups, schools and business can all get involved. We need your support and together we really can make a difference.
Feedback Back Issues
September 2012
Back issues of our bi-annual newsletter have been uploaded to this website for those that want to know what the Trust has been doing over the last few years. The copies go back to 2007 and are available as pdfs’ for anyone that is interested in looking through the 16-page publications.
Feedback is usually produced in greyscale but the back issues include our 20th anniversary edition of 20-page with a full colour cover. It is sent to Friends’ and supporters of the Trust by post or email in the spring and autumn and keeps them in touch with our work and latest news.
You can receive copies by becoming a Friend of the Barn Owl Trust and supporting our work of conserving the Barn Owl and its Environment.
The link on the right takes you to our General Information Page. Scroll to the bottom for Feedback.
Uncovered- The killing of Britain's Barn Owls
- Barn Owls are Britain's most popular farmland bird but they have declined by at least 70% and there are only 4000 pairs left.
- One third of all the young Barn Owls produced annually (3000 birds) end up dead on trunk roads. At least 1000 adult Barn Owls are also killed annually
- The Highways Agency has ignored recommendations made in 2003 and has singularly failed to do anything to reduce mortality. 3000 more young Barn Owls will die this Autumn. Trunk roads kill 450 times more Barn Owls (per mile) than other roads.
- Latest government figures show that a staggering 91% of Barn Owls contain rat/mouse poison (rodenticide). Some die as a direct result. Most contain sub leathal doses that could be reducing the owls hunting ability and nesting success.
- The use of rodenticides is largely uncontrolled and the information on containers is both misleading and inadequate: Most people who use rodenticides have no idea that they are poisoning Barn Owls and other wildlife.
- The first-ever Barn Owl Conservation Handbook, published this month exposes these critical issues and is a highly critical wake-up call for the Highways Agency, the rodenticide manufacturers and the Health and Safety Executives of Chemicals Regulation Directorate.
Barn Owls are stunningly beautiful and to see one hunting at dusk, is a magnificent sight. However most of the wild Barn Owls people see these days are dead on the roadside. If you're really lucky and see a live Barn Owl the chances are that it will already be poisoned. Government research has shown that the vast majority of Britain's Barn Owls contain highly toxic rat poison. Overall, the population has declined by at least 70% since the 1930's and researchers have identified trunk roads and rat poisons as two of the most likely causes.
Scientific references available on request.
For further information please email:
info@barnowltrust.org.uk
Keep up to date with our latest Nestcam News
Click the link on the right and go to the Nestcam Diary 2013 to discover how things are going this year in a wild Barn Owl nest.
From here there are links to our Nestcam and Barncam so you can see for yourself. There are also links to Nestcam Diaries for each year since 2008.
Because of the high volume of email we receive relating to Nestcam we have set up a dedicated email address for letting us know of any unusual activity. Please check the diary first and use the new email address to report any noteworthy events.
Enjoy.
Welcome
Here you can find out how you can help us to conserve the beautiful Barn Owl. Watch our 3 minute video to find out more about the Trust and its work. We have six short 1.5 minute videos including an Introduction to the Barn Owl, Providing a home and Where do Barn Owls feed. There are lots of information leaflets and reports you can download as well as some rather wonderful desktop backgrounds. We also have a huge slideshow library with a vast amount of information about Barn Owls, the land the Trust owns and manages for wildlife and much, much more.
You can support our work by making a donation, becoming a Friend of the Trust, adopting one of the Barn Owls in our sanctuary or by making a purchase from our on-line shop - checkout our nestboxes, cards, clothing and gift ideas.
Click on any bold text to take you straight to that part of our website and have fun exploring. To keep in touch and up-to-date with the latest news and events here you can set our News page or our LLP diary as one of your browser favourites
Enjoy.
Donate Your Scrap Car to the Barn Owl Trust
The Barn Owl Trust has recently teamed up with Giveacar, the UK’s largest car donation service. Giveacar arranges the free collection of any car, regardless of its condition, anywhere in the UK.
Cars are either scrapped, and a donation to the Trust made based on the value of scrap metal, or put into an auction, and a donation made based on the price gained at auction.
If you have an old car this is a really good way to get rid of it and support the Trust at the same time.
To donate a car to The Barn Owl Trust, please click here and it will take you to our page on the Giveacar website.
Three Minute Wonder!
Our new promotional film is now 'live' on the Barn Owl Trust website! Go to 'About the Trust', 'Watch our three minute video' to have a look. The film is a short summary of the work of the Trust, tracing its foundations in 1988 right through to the present day. Conservation, education and research are all highlighted in the video, as well as information provision.
The film emphasises just how vital donations, adoptions and legacies are to enabling the Trust to continue its work. The Lennon Legacy Project is a fantastic example of how a legacy can really make a difference, allowing the Trust to transform 26 acres of intensive grassland into 26 acres of Barn Owl heaven - which now has two pairs of breeding Barn Owls!! As well as appearing on our website, the film will accompany funding applications to show the varied amount of work the Trust undertakes.
A big 'thank you' to Hilltribe Productions for a great production. Our new 'Wings of Change' educational film should arrive any day now. We can hardly wait!!
Lennon Legacy Project News
See the latest news from the Lennon Legacy Project - turning 26 acres of what was intensively grazed grassland into Barn Owl paradise - it's great for loads of wildlife too. Click the link on the right for the LLP monthly diary and visit our 15+ LLP slideshows for "How it used to look, Hedge creation, Butterflies" and so much more..........
Visit our Slideshows
The Trusts website has over 70 different slideshows for you to view. Select the link on the right hand side of the page to see the list: Owl pictures, Barn Owls, Other Owls, Barn Owl prey and their signs, Signs of owls, Pellets, Barn Owl habitat, Hazards facing Barn Owls, Rehabilitation and sanctuary, Nestboxes, Nestbox construction, Nestbox erection, Barns, barn conversions and other nest sites, Lennon Legacy Project, Training and education and Other slideshows – enjoy.
