Installing owl boxes

Two farmers in the group would like to install owl boxes on their holdings to encourage owls to nest and breed.

Here’s a summary of their project proposal:

There are 5 owl species in the UK; the barn owl, tawny owl, little owl, long-eared owl and short-eared owl. Although they are not endangered, their loss of habitat in the UK due to industrialisation and some agricultural practices is concerning for these species and they are considered vulnerable.

The habitat of owl prey is also being destroyed, for example hedgerow loss for agriculture. The use of pesticides can be fatal for owls, however, owls can be used to reduce and even stop the use of pesticides on farms . For example, one of the 5 owls in the UK is the little owl, and their diets consists mostly of insects, these insects can be a huge pest for farmers so encouraging the owls to nest on farm will help keep insect levels down and have a positive effect on farmers.

We want to conserve these owls and encourage breeding to help the population status.

We will measure the projects success by monitoring the nesting boxes regularly and noting the presence or absence of owls in the boxes.

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