Owls return to our Owl Tower for the 2026 season

2 November 2025

Thanks to some hard work by our Len Pick Trust volunteers, the owl tower nest box is looking very smart and we already have a barn owl regularly roosting there.

The photo shows a few black pellets on the fresh substrate.

Owls don’t build a nest so it is essential they have something to lay their eggs on to stop them rolling around.

The pellets are full of the fur and bones of their digested prey. The birds can only process the flesh of the rodents they eat and the rest is ejected through their beaks onto the floor.

Over the course of the year, hundreds of these pellets can build up.

2025 was disastrous for barn owls. South of a line from Lincoln to Chester they had their worst breeding season ever recorded.

The wet late winter was followed by a drought which decimated the vole population. Short tailed voles are the staple prey item of most owls. Given favourable conditions over the next few months their numbers will build up again.

Let’s hope for a successful breeding season in 2026.