Martin Weatherburn kindly sent us some stunning images of the feathered visitors he gets in front of his camera trap.
You may also remember that Martin sent us some images showing the lives of his local little owls about 18 months ago – well they’re back, and with some company…
Barn owls actually ended up in the owl box, and were often perching on a fence post nearby.
Also visiting earlier in the year, and fresh with a catch, were kestrels – one handing off its prey to its partner, swooping in to grab it…
Martin said that “the barn owls laid 4 eggs, before being ousted by the kestrels”.
But what about the little owls? The old box fell apart and the tree it was attached to died from ash dieback, so a new box was needed.
“A little owl appeared on the fence post on the 11th October, so we were reluctant to replace the box”, Martin explains.
“On the basis that owls only see a hole, we took the risk and fixed the new box to a tree just behind the old one, and hoped the little owl wouldn’t notice that the new box was slightly further back and higher up.
“Two days after we set the camera trap back up, we were rewarded with a visit.”
Thank you for sharing your feathered friends with us Martin!
