Our long-term Barn Owl patients in the Raptor Hospital have now been relocated to their release site.
Pin Wing was found in a holly hedge with a broken wing. Thankfully, the next day our vet Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown was visiting, and he was able to operate and installed a pin and bridge to stabilise the wing while the bone healed. After a few weeks, the bridge was removed and within 24 hours, Pin Wing was flying around her aviary.
Ticky was brought in after being found next to a road. Although he has mild concussion, he was also covered in ticks, which partially paralysed his face. We were very concerned about his ability to survive in the wild, so knew that a hack release would need to be considered for him too.
These two birds were placed in one of our outdoor aviaries together, as the finder of Pin Wing had offered us some space to build a hack pen on his farm. This was an ideal situation as Ben was happy to monitor the pair and support them with food for as long as is required.
Jay and Garry recently spent a couple of days installing the hack pen around an old stump. This is ideal for giving the birds some experience of the wild, and the hack pen is designed to allow small rodents access, so we may see the residents hunting before they are released. They also placed a Jay’s special nest box in the hack pen so that the pair have some shelter, and a few perches for them to use.
Pin Wing and Ticky have become firm favourites for the team, so they had a bit of an entourage on moving day. The hack pen was given a final check by Jess, who has been caring for these owls with the rest of the team for the past few months, before a trail camera was installed to give optimum views of the space.
Pin Wing was the first out of the box and took a moment to realise that she was in a larger space, before doing a short lap of the pen and landing on top of the box. She seemed to recognise the area as she tried to see through the pen walls, which bodes really well for her actual release in a few weeks time.
Ticky almost took off before Jess could place him on the stump, and did the same short lap then landed on the ground. We retreated to observe them for a few minutes outside the pen before leaving them to settle into their new home.
The team then went on to check the six nest boxes that Ben has on his land, with Dr Hugh Hanmer from the British Trust for Ornithology present. Hugh holds the required Schedule 1 licence and ringing permits to check Barn Owl boxes, so under his guidance the team are being trained to enable them to carry out these checks in the future.
There are three in the barns within a short distance from the hack pen, and upon approaching the first one, a Tawny Owl was flushed from the roof apex and flew out into another area where the other box is. The first box was empty, and as we approached the second box, two Tawny Owls flew out, over the hack pen and disappeared into the trees, where they were mobbed by Blackbirds, Finches and Tits. This box was also empty, so we suspect that the pair may have bred in the trees and were probably enjoying some peace and quiet in the Barn away from their chicks during the daytime. The third box in the Barns was also empty.
The team then checked a box within sight of the house, and just a few meters away from the hedge where Pin Wing was found. When the team had previously checked this box in February, just a short time after Pin Wing came to us, a Barn Owl had flown out, so we were hopeful of activity. Unfortunately, the activity was not what we were looking for, as the box contained the remains of a Jackdaw nest, with several of these birds observing us from the field.
The team then started the long walk across some of Ben’s land to visit the furthest nest box. Thankfully, on this occasion Ben was cutting the paths to this part of the farm, so he was able to transport the ladder for us, which made for a much more enjoyable walk past the mere. The last 50m or so to this box involved wading through a jungle of bracken and stinging nettles, which made everyone regret their clothing choice of shorts for the day!
Although we try to approach quietly so as not to disturb any birds that may be present in the box, the difficult terrain meant that the resident Barn Owl heard us coming and flew off into a nearby tree as we got closer to the box. This box had previously housed a huge (dead) hornet nest, so we were pleased to see that the box was being used by its intended residents! Inside, we found fresh pellets, but no obvious nesting activity.
We had disregarded the final box, as on our previous visit we had unintentionally caught two grey squirrels in the net, and the box was in need of repairs. However, not having to carry the ladders gave us an incentive to check this box, as birds will frequently nest in very unlikely places! On this occasion though, the box was still resided in by squirrels, though thankfully they exited through the hole in the back rather than jumping out the front!
We were also of a mind to check a natural hole in a large oak tree in the field, but upon our approach, a squirrel stuck its head out and chak-chakked at us to warn us to stay clear!
Whilst it was disappointing not to find any active raptor nests on this visit, it does give Pin Wing and Ticky plenty of options for setting up their own territory once released in a few weeks time. We will return later in the summer to check the boxes again, in case Pin Wing has laid some eggs, or if the resident owl down by the mere has found a mate and started a family.