Len Pick Trust Owl Project

Welcome to the Len Pick Trust's owl project. A number of years ago we worked with local technical colleges and local farmers to build two owl towers on land around Bourne. These structures have proven to be very successful, and during the nesting season we run a blog and live video feed from one of the towers, which you can find below.

Both barn owls are back in the nest box

12 March 2024 Comments Off on Both barn owls are back in the nest box

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.

Technical gremlins delay camera for 2024 season

6 March 2024 Comments Off on Technical gremlins delay camera for 2024 season

A very warm welcome to our Owl Tower blog, which returns for the 2024 nesting season.

By this time of year, our our live camera feed would usually be visible on this page, giving a unique insight into our South Lincolnshire owl tower. Sadly, during a storm in 2023, the camera equipment was damaged meaning the feed is not currently available. We’re working hard to install new equipment and get the video feed online once again, and hope to have this issue resolved within the next couple of weeks.

Off Line

12 September 2023 Comments Off on Off Line

We are afraid that following the thunder storms experienced over Bourne on Sunday afternoon, some of the owl camera equipment appears to have been damaged by a lighting strike(s) and consequently the camera feed is down.  We are investigating the problem and hope (Fingers crossed!) that matters are capable of of a relatively easy fix. In view of the fact that, prior to this episode, the surviving chick was latterly only infrequently seen in the box, we were contemplating turning the feed off for the season but the decision has now been made for us!

It has regrettably been a very mixed season this year and indeed we are advised that only some 97 Owl chicks have been ringed throughout the whole of the county  of Lincolnshire, so in some ways we have been lucky to produce one chick.

Back on line! -29.08.23

29 August 2023 Comments Off on Back on line! -29.08.23

We are pleased to report as you will see, the camera feed has been restored thanks to our technical back-up guys – Well done!!!

Owl camera unavailable

27 August 2023 Comments Off on Owl camera unavailable

Unfortunately, a problem has manifested itself with the Owl Cam feed. We are working on a fix and we hope to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

Our chick will soon be flying!

17 August 2023 Comments Off on Our chick will soon be flying!

Our barn owl chick is eight weeks old and has started to look very much like an adult, It still has a bit of juvenile fluff but that will soon disappear.
From now on we shall see it only rarely in the nest box as it explores its immediate surroundings.

We shall then switch the camera off until next year.

It has been a difficult season for our owls, a situation repeated all over Lincolnshire.
The good years and the bad years eventually even themselves out, so maybe 2024 will be a bumper one?
We hope our loyal viewers have enjoyed watching our barn owl family despite all the ups and downs!

The single barn owl chick in the Len Pick owl tower continues to thrive against the odds.

9 August 2023 Comments Off on The single barn owl chick in the Len Pick owl tower continues to thrive against the odds.

The surviving chick is seven weeks old today.

Soon it will disappear into the entrance tunnel for long periods but will return to the box at feeding time.

Things have improved a lot this week as the harvest is finally underway and mice are abundant.

In fact there has been surplus prey this past few days so the adult female has been able to take things a bit easier after a difficult time in July.

Young rats are common amongst the prey items. The lack of voles this year has meant the adult owls have had to look for other rodent species.

Surprisingly, the adult male has turned up again! He hasn’t been seen for a few weeks but now he pops into the box most nights, sometimes with prey, but mostly to bond with the female.

Catch as catch can harvest

6 August 2023 Comments Off on Catch as catch can harvest

Following on from our previous post, we are pleased to report that the harvest has really commenced over the last couple of days, notwithstanding the intermittent showers and rainstorms.

As predicted, the combine has driven out the mice and voles and keen followers of the Video feed will have noticed, as a consequence, that the chick has had adequate prey delivered. Indeed, yesterday afternoon the mother was spotted resting in the box after delivering prey for the chick overnight.

Obviously, the fate of the chick depends on so many factors and so we hope for continuing dry weather so that the mother can continue her hunting. Rain is the enemy as Owls cannot fly with wet plumage.

A challenging nesting season for our owls

29 July 2023 Comments Off on A challenging nesting season for our owls

Poor weather conditions during summer have led to big challenges for our nesting owls. We understand that for some of our viewers, it can be concerning to see the chicks alone in the owl tower for prolonged periods of time, and so in this blog update, our resident owl expert explains what has been going on. 

Prey is very scarce this year for Lincolnshire’s barn owls. It is the worst year in living memory and this is borne out by what is happening at the Len Pick Trust nest.

Only two chicks hatched and the youngest died earlier this month. The adult male has disappeared and so the female is doing all the hunting, but she visits every night, usually when most webcam viewers are asleep so it’s easy to assume she has disappeared.

Last night she fed the chick at midnight, but whether the owlet can survive on a reduced diet is unsure.

The wet weather conditions have led to a poor harvest for Lincolnshire’s farmers – and remarkably, this affects our owl chick’s chances of survival. When combine harvesters are in the fields, this drives mice and voles out of the ground and makes them easier for the owls to catch, providing food to feed their chicks. If the combines can get out soon then there will be plenty of mice available, but that of course is weather dependant.

The camera is monitored regularly by our owl experts, and it has always been the Len Pick Trust’s policy never to interfere with nature whatever the circumstances, and we hope that our owl towers provide a safe home for nesting owls. These are wild birds, and will have good and bad years depending on prey availability.

Sadly one of our chicks has died – July 22nd 2023

22 July 2023 Comments Off on Sadly one of our chicks has died – July 22nd 2023

Last night our smallest chick died.
This was not unexpected as reports are coming in from all over the county of brood depletion due to the weather conditions and lack of prey.
Barn owls struggle to hunt in the high winds such as we witnessed last weekend. Rain is also their enemy so put the two together and it is unsurprising we have the perfect storm.
The harvest is underway so we may get a glut of mice to help the eldest chick survive if the weather improves.

To view the Owl Blog before 2022, visit the archive here.