Peak District Retreat Blog: Wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment

This barn owl seems to have been making a close inspection of the camera attached to the owlbox ledge.

Our cameras have ‘no-glow’/'low-glow' 940nm infrared lighting at night. In dim nightime conditions there is a slight red glow visible but it doesn't seem to deter the owls.

As a Barn owl returned to her roosting box she was followed by a Tawny owl.

She clearly considered this as a threat. She managed to get safely into the box and the tawny just flew away.

Watch the video on our youtube channel.

A tawny brings its mouse prey to our barn owl nest box and perches with it on the ‘branch’ (a piece of timber installed to hold a camera but which is also popular with the owls as perching branch)

Our barn owlets have all dispersed and so the nest box is currently unoccupied. The tawny owl did not attempt to enter the box and flew away after about 30 seconds, but not before making a close up inspection of the camera on the “branch”.

We had four eggs laid. All four hatched and all four owlets have grown and fledged successfully.

This morning there are no owlets roosting in the box. Last night one owlet was on the ledge but had to go hunting for itself as, for the first time, no parent brought any prey to feed it.

Over the last few days occupancy has been intermittent, and it is possible that one or even two of them may visit over the next few days, but soon they will be dispersing away from this area to find an unoccupied territory that they can make their own.

We have enjoyed seeing them all flying around the area, and perching on the ledge, between dusk and dawn for the last few weeks. Until next year…

This evening, for the first time, the fourth and youngest owlet, 54 days since hatching, has managed to fly up from the base of the nest box and gain purchase on the exit hole. Its first three siblings have been exiting the box for a few days now, particularly the first two, achieving this for the first time at 56 days, 56 days, and 55 days respectively.

The first two hatchings have quickly become confident flyers. The third-hatched, at the right of the group (with its first outing being only two days ago, and still quite downy on the abdomen) is less confident but is nevertheless flying around.

At 56 days since hatching, the first hatched owlet has managed to fly up the box exit for the first time.

It didn't venture out on to the ledge - it just clung on to the exit and looked around. The parent twice brought it prey and tried to feed it as it clung there, but both times the prey was dropped onto the ledge. Perhaps the owlet was too focussed on clinging to the exit to manage to coordinate a food pass!

Soon it will be venturing out onto the ledge, and starting to fly around. It will return to the box, because barn owl parents only feed those at the box, not any that have left and not returned (even if they are stuck on the floor and can't get back to the box).

Expect a second owlet to also achieve this same milestone in the next couple of days.

The barn owlets are developing well and the first fledging is expected in around ten days.

To exit the nest box they need to be able to fly up to the exit hole which is about 60cm above the floor of the box. The box depth is calculated so as to be difficult for them to exit before 56 days old. This is because if they leave the box too early, before they are good enough at flying to get back to the nest box, they will starve. Barn owl parents do not feed their young on the ground, they feed only those in or on the box. (This is different to tawny owls who find their young and feed them wherever they are).

The eldest owlet will be 56 days old just nine days from now. Expect to see a lot of wing exercising and attempted flying between now and then. Already I've seen the eldest one leave the bottom of the box briefly by flapping its wings.

This female barn owl had been quite wet and bedraggled earlier in the morning, following hunting in the rain to feed her young. Then she emerged from the box to shake and rearrange her now dry but perhaps rather matted feathers.