A blog to share barn owl and other wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment.
Video of the four barn owlets
07. May 2026, Wildlife
The female barn owl stepped aside for a stretch a few times today, allowing us a better view of the four barn owlets.
On the video (on youTube) you can see the wriggling of the pink blobby owlets.
Besides the two eggs yet to hatch you can also see some egg-shell fragments which are from yesterday's hatching.
New: Tawny owl nestbox installed
27. April 2026, Wildlife
Installed today, we now have a tawny owl nestbox hanging on a rowan tree.
As recommended it is facing east to avoid the prevailing SW wind and rain. The location is 80m north of the barn owl nestbox, which is on the rear-left of the house seen peeking over the horizon to the right of the rowan tree.
The design and dimensions of the are based on guides from the Barn Owl Trust and BTO.
This is installed too late for the current nesting season, but it will be available for the tawnies to notice it in the Autumn, when they are scouting potential nesting sites ready for early next year.
