What I am all about

So this weeks blog could be another recount of my owlish encounters. With the wintry conditions clearing and Earth relaxing her shoulders and breathing a sigh of relief I have plenty to share with you. I could write how an owl waited on my house midweek, flying low and purposefully straight to the farm as I appeared. I could recall how the shed pair sat like little sentinels on a horizontal beam as my torchlight searched through the gap in the door; frozen in position hoping not to give up their whereabouts as I walked by. I could tell you about my visitors last night who flew so close in the drizzling darkness that I could almost feel their wing tips brush my face.

                       .                                       One of this week's visitors

But this week's blog is different. It has recently occurred to me that now is a good time to explain what I do. Why I feed the owls and how it works. Some of you who have been with me from the start will know how it all began and have become familiar with my sentiments over the years. Others may wonder who this eccentric middle-aged woman is who whistles owls in and defrosts day old chicks on the boiler. I felt the need to clarify who I am and what I am all about. Then in a moment of synchronicity I received a reply on Twitter from a gentleman urging me to "leave them be" concerned I was doing more harm than good. I didn't reply, respecting his different view of things but his comments were timely and this week's blog began forming in my mind.

I began feeding the owls in November 2012 when our resident pair of Barn Owls produced two owlets late in the year. Paddy, who rings our owls, was not averse to me feeding them as we seriously doubted they would survive. Many would say that this is nature, sometimes cruel and that we shouldn't interfere. My answer to this is that we already have. We have polluted and destroyed habitats, we have affected the climate. Our interference is abundant. A little recompense is, in my mind, long overdue. Some people in a nearby village were already feeding their resident owls and had urged me to do the same. With more than a little reservation I began to climb the straw stack every night and throw day old chicks close to the nest box for the adults to find. The youngsters fledged and I haven't looked back.

Since I have been feeding them the Barn Owl Trust has amended its advice regarding feeding to say that supplementary feeding can be carried out in harsh times and withdrawn gradually when no longer required. I never stop feeding entirely but the food I put out is just that; supplementary. They are not wholly dependent on me and in times of plenty they leave the food I put out. I am so used to their habits that I now recognise when to decrease supplies and when leaving more will be beneficial. I found a pellet in the straw stack this week which clearly shows they eat other prey apart from the food I leave. I liken my feeding the owls to others feeding the birds in their garden. At one time this was viewed with caution and I remember RSPB advice telling us not to feed birds during the breeding season. Now this is seen as hugely beneficial and many people supplement the diet of their garden birds. We delight at photos of Robins taking food from hands. Others feed Hedgehogs, Badgers, even Foxes. Barn Owls are more unusual but no less needy.

                                                    Summer 2017 and a great nest site.

So from a wary, reticent start to the benefits. We now have three feeding stations and five nest sites within the farm yard. Two pairs nest side by side in the farm and other birds fly in for food. In the years 2006 to 2011 we produced eleven owlets on the farm. From 2012, when feeding began, to 2017 our farm fledged forty nine. These figures even surprised me!! This does not include the unknown broods from the chimney. The two pairs live amicably along side each other because of the abundance of food. They build up their laying weight earlier and produce their first brood a few weeks sooner meaning there is plenty of time for a second brood. Second broods fledgling earlier mean the weather is usually better and mortality in the youngsters is less likely. Because there is food the adults are less hasty to send off the youngsters to disperse and they have a safe site to over winter on before finding their own territories. We live in prime Barn Owl habitat with plenty of tussocky grass, well away from main roads. Our owlets have been recaptured as adults at farms locally with their own owlets in subsequent years. It is also notable that farms adjacent to ours that didn't have Barn Owls on site previously now have them. What is there not to praise about these figures?

                                                                      Free for all.

What began as a venture to save two little owlets has become, for me, a little citizen science project. I am privy to their habits, their courtships and their owlet rearing exploits. I have seen owlets play like kittens and watched them fledge into the truly amazing birds that they are. The vocalisations I have listened to, when I can hear them, are varied and listening to them over the years I am able to differentiate between some of these sounds. For example I can now tell when they are screeching at me or when it is aimed at another owl. I have delighted in their successes, such as the summer of 2014 when eleven owlets fledged together and the farm was alive with owls. I have felt the tragedies that have unfolded too such as the loss of our adult male in 2015. Each evening brings something new and I am learning all the time. For the last two years we have been part of the BTO coloured ring scheme and it is fascinating to see who is still on the farm and when the youngsters leave the natal nest site. Even the absence of coloured rings, as we have at the moment, is telling. My blogs, which I enjoy writing, form a record of what is happening.

                                                    Coloured rings showing nicely

My photos are part of this.  I don't bait the owls to fly in simply for a photo. They are flying in for food. My camera is simply not good enough to get me an award winning photos even if this was my aim. These photos are great however, for sharing with like minded people. They also give me lots of clues as to who is visiting; more jigsaw pieces to add to the story.I have read all about owls and flash photography and am always mindful of any possible effects. I take photos occasionally on still nights standing a sensible distance away at just one feeding platform. I always make sure the owls see the camera flash before they fly in. They are prepared but fly in anyway and I have never seen the flash affect their ability to fly and take the food. Nonetheless I only stay a couple of minutes. Any owls that are wary can fly in when I have left. They are so used to me they know the routine and appear totally unfazed by me. Anyone who has read my blog before will be left in no doubt that the bird always comes first.

                                                          2014 tumbler safely returned.

Phew feels like a bit of a lecture and I hope you are still with me on this one. Normal service will be resumed next week as we tumble into Spring. Hopefully the owls will continue to give me some more fantastic fly pasts to share with you.