Both barn owls are back in the nest box

12 March 2024

The camera at The Len Pick Trust tower has seen many successful breeding seasons in the past and this year our pair are already together and have been seen mating.

It will be a few weeks before we have the first egg as barn owls don’t usually lay in the UK until late April or even early May.

Much depends on the availability of prey. The female needs to get into egg laying condition over the next month or so, and this means eating at least four small rodents each night. Many of these will be brought to her by the male to show her how good a provider he is.

It is possible the vole population might be quite low at the moment as so much of their grassland habitat has been under water recently.

We must wait and see. Fingers crossed.