Over the weekend, some of our team embarked on a mission to locate and check some of the original nest boxes in place around the Thornham Estate. This is where the Thornham Owl Project started, under the guidance of Roger Buxton over 20 years ago. These boxes hadn’t been checked since 2019 due to Covid-related reasons, so it was important to locate them along the maze of non-public access tracks and check which were in use, or still present.
The intention of this project is to provide a safe place for native Owls and Kestrels to raise their young, and to feed these data into the national database, held by the British Trust for Ornithology. Working under licence with Dr Hugh Hanmer, Jess and Susan are keen to learn more about this work so that we can continue to monitor the population of Tawny, Barn and Little Owls, as well as Kestrels in the local area.
The day was expected to be nice, but upon arrival the sun had brought out all the visitors, and with not much shade available in the car park, Susan and Hugh’s two dogs came along for the ride.
Freya and Wish being field dogs for the day
The first box was an older style of chimney Tawny Owl box on a heavily ivy-d tree. Hugh put up the ladder and discovered that the box was “secured” to the tree by a single bungee chord and thin metal wire. This was clearly a “bodge-job” that hasn’t been repaired properly, but upon inspection inside the box itself, Hugh discovered a large squirrel drey. This box has been marked as one to replace in the autumn with a newer style which should make it more secure for Tawny Owls.
Not the most secure box, being held to the tree by an old bungee chord.
We then drove to check another Tawny Owl box in a lovely patch of open woodland. It was in a large Oak with a convenient low crown, so the shorter ladder could be used to access this natural platform. This box was empty, although there was evidence of past use, so we will re-check it in a few weeks time.
A super location for a Tawny Owl box
The next box we were unable to find, with the GPS location fixed on a fallen small tree in a horse paddock. There may have been a larger tree previously which has been felled, but the surrounding area was suitable for Tawny Owls and Little Owls, so we may return with some new boxes over the autumn.
We then drove down one of the access tracks to check Tawny, Barn, Little Owl and Kestrel boxes. Of these, only two were found. On our way, we were approached by a retired Gamekeeper who lives very close to one of the Tawny boxes. He was happy to see the boxes being checked again and asked if it would be possible to install a Barn Owl box, as he regularly sees one flying over the field beyond his garden. We took his details and said we’ll bring one out later in the year. We were interested to hear that he also helped with bird ringing on the Estate, as this is something Hugh and Susan are very interested to take up. A useful contact who might know some additional suitable locations for nest boxes in the future.
Following this, we visited a known Barn Owl box, which is visible from the public paths. Jess gained access via the farm and we were able to drive straight into the field, so less distance to carry the ladder! While Hugh climbed the ladder armed with a blocker to prevent any present owls from escaping, Jess found a fresh pellet on the ground beneath the tree. Unfortunately, there was no-one home, but fresh pellets inside the box means this is definitely one we’ll be checking again. The box was quite high up the Oak tree, but there were two suitable natural holes which Hugh was able to investigate using his phone. Both had evidence of occasional use so this could be an interesting tree to visit in the future!
The Little Owl box at the far end of this field was missing, but some baler twine attached at about the right height suggests that it may have been knocked off by cattle, who do sometimes graze in this field. If we replace this one, we’ll probably place it on the field boundary to offer some protection from curious cows.
We had a number of boxes still to find, and using an OS map app, it appeared that there was a track running past a camp site which should give access to this area. The first box was missing, but again, there was a fallen tree where the GPS point was! This was in a lovely location across a wet meadow margin to an arable field. Unfortunately, the main Norwich-London train-line formed the opposite field boundary, so we scouted out a suitable replacement location one field back from the railway line, and will probably replace with a Barn Owl box. The Kestrel box at the far end of this field wasn’t in the tree, but Hugh found it on the ground. The back of the box had started to rot, so we were unable to reattach it to the tree.
We returned to the truck and continued down the track towards what we hoped would be two or three further Tawny Owl boxes. The track was quite narrow, with vegetation and birch woodland on both sides. Jess had just said “I hope there’s somewhere I can turn down here” when the track suddenly became very wet. Jess was able to drive the truck to a slightly wider area so that she could turn around, but then disaster struck as the wheels started spinning in the mud!
Jess, almost about to give up after we got stuck!
Susan and Hugh both jumped out and tried pushing which made little difference. Thankfully, there was plenty of fallen trees in the woodland, so they placed pieces of wood in front and behind the wheels so that Jess could try and rock the vehicle onto a more stable surface. With some expert driving (and quite a bit of sweating!) Jess was able to get the truck back onto the drier track and the team escaped to terra firma for a late lunch (having been stuck in the mud for well over half an hour!)
Suitably de-stressed and with blood glucose and pressure returning to normal, the team opted to check one last box before calling it a day. This one was down a well surfaced track and led to a private house. We parked just beyond the house and walked down the track (which was wet!) to find the Tawny Owl box. This one also had a squirrel drey in it, but was in otherwise good condition so will be cleaned out in the autumn ready for next year.
Although we were slightly disappointed not to find any Owls in these boxes, we did manage to locate most of the boxes in this area and have a few that look promising for later in the year. We also made some useful contacts with people who might be able to remotely monitor the boxes for us, which will save us an enormous amount of time in the future as we will be able to prioritise boxes with known activity. We have full admiration for Roger and Kevin for what they achieved in this area and are hopeful to continue their good work in years to come.
We would like to thank Hugh from the BTO and JoJo from Thornham for their continued support, and to all the landowners who give us permission to access these boxes. All of this work is carried out under licence from the British Trust for Ornithology. Jess would also like to thank Wish and Freya for being super supportive during our time of need, and for providing comforting cuddles when it was all over!
Wish checked all the safety equipment before Hugh climbed the ladder