November News Bytes 2021

These news bytes have appeared on our social media sites, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during the month and have been pulled together here.

School Visits

This photo is from a recent school visit! Mateo went to see a group of local primary school students at Farm School at Carswell. This was a bespoke visit that involved pellet analysis, building a nestbox and a talk from Mateo which included an appearance by Baley, our Barn Owl ambassador! If you are interested in having the Barn Owl Trust visit your school, take a look at our website here.

Habitat Management

Find out the difference between rough grazing – which is not very good habitat for Barn Owls – and rough grassland (which is excellent) – and how to manage land for Field Voles & Barn Owls here.

Photo by Russell Savory

#FoundonFacebook!

 Scientific terms for Barn Owl growth stages…?? or maybe not!!

The original is a very popular card by Frances Ramsden (one of our Managing Trustees).

Christmas Cards

Grateful thanks to all the amazingly talented wildlife photographers (Richard Tadman, Russell Savory, Mike Reid, Ed MacKerrow, Mike Pierce, Peter Warne) who donated their work to our stunning Christmas card collection this year! By buying direct from us, you ensure that every penny is well spent on helping Barn Owls!

Mention by  Restore Our Planet

“We supported The Barn Owl Trust as they replanted an old 25-acre orchard with traditional apple trees in Devon for owls to thrive. A perfect spot of grassland for hunting small mammals. Read about our project here.”

You can find out more information about our reserve on our Lennon Legacy Project page. We also have a Wildlife Diary that we update regularly with wildlife sightings and our practical conservation work.

Photo by Nick Sampford

Scientific Paper

Why aren’t British Barn Owls as reddish as those from over the English Channel? We gave samples to scientists who explain how whiter owls from Portugal & Spain arrived some 13,000 years ago and left a lasting legacy.

Follow the link below to read the full paper.

Machado, A. P., Cumer, T., Iseli, C., Beaudoing, E., Ducrest, A.-L., Dupasquier, M., Guex, N., Dichmann, K., Lourenço, R., Lusby, J., Martens, H.-D., Prévost, L., Ramsden, D., Roulin, A., & Goudet, J. (2021).
Unexpected post-glacial colonisation route explains the white colour of barn owls (Tyto alba) from the British Isles. Molecular Ecology, 00, 1– 16.
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16250

Conservation Volunteers

A big THANK YOU to the University of Plymouth student volunteers who came out to help us with conservation work yesterday! Our task was clearing some young Blackthorn in order to preserve the rough grassland area and balance the scrub that’s developing there.

Wildlife Towers

You’re being watched!

This young Barn Owl has taken up residence in the Wildlife Tower on our reserve here in Devon! You can find out all about these wonderful constructions on out Wildlife Tower page.

We’re recruiting!

We are looking for an Assistant Conservation Officer to join our team. Full details, including Application Form, Job Description and Person Specification, available here.

 Closing date for applications: 26th November 2021 5.00pm

Photo by Phil Thorogood

Dancing Barn Owl ??!!

 Barn Owls bob their heads to work out the direction and distance to where a sound or movement is. Head-bobbing combines with other adaptations to help locate prey accurately, ready for the pounce!

We have huge amounts of information about Barn Owls on our website, including a page dedicated to Barn Owl facts.