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

This year our barn owl pair have six eggs, laid approximately every two days between 30th March and 12th April.

Laying to hatching interval is around 29-32 days, so the first hatchling is likely to appear within the next few days. Keep an eye on the owlcam to see if you can be first to spot it.

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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.