Poorer than predicted Barn Owl breeding
Back in February, Barn Owl expert Colin Shawyer predicted that, provided spring conditions remained mild, the exceptional number of 2014 fledglings would mean good recruitment of young breeding birds, but also that though egg-laying could be expected at the usual time in late-April/early-May, a decline in vole numbers from their 2014 peak would result in smaller brood sizes and fewer fledglings this year.Subsequent early visits to Barn Owl nest boxes revealed much less activity than expected. In late May, Colin visited 25 boxes that had contained 16 active nests in March 2014, only to find just eight with signs of adults present and three clutches of eggs. Non-breeding females were found to be underweight, suggesting that, whether caused by recent wet weather affecting foraging or simply the scarcity of voles, birds were late getting into breeding condition.
By mid-June, reports on the NRS Forum were sounding similar. Alan Ball, Bob Sheppard and Keith Bowden, in Lincolnshire, had checked most of their boxes and found four Barn Owl pairs on eggs or chicks. On the same date in 2014, they had been monitoring 200 nests. Frank Mawby, in Cumbria, Peter Wilkinson, in Cambs, and David Garner, in Cambs, were also reporting low breeding occupancy, and an apparent shortage of prey. Bob Danson, a recorder in Lancashire, commented that food larders had disappeared after the very beginning of the season, in contrast to 2014 when piles of six and seven voles were common.
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| A single Barn Owl chick at 20-25 days. In 2015 there have been many reports of broods sizes dropping to just one or two chicks. Photo by BTO. |
In mid to late July, when Barn Owl chicks are often ready for ringing, there were reports of brood sizes of three and four having reduced to just one—Mike McDowall in East Lothian, David Garner in Cambs and Frank Mawby in Cumbria all ringed single chicks. By the time Bob Danson had ringed his latest brood on 3 August, just eight of the 23 nests he had found so far in his 80 boxes had produced chicks, and his ringing total had reached only 18.
Better Barn Owl news has come in from elsewhere: Nigel Lewis at Salisbury Plain observed a good proportion of boxes with clutches of eggs in May and Judith Smith, in Manchester, has ringed several healthy broods of four and five chicks, including some in new boxes. Geoff Myers, in Lancashire, reported that good numbers of both early and later laying Barn Owl pairs had successfully reared broods and that by 24 June he had ringed a brood of six and several broods of five—very advanced compared to elsewhere.
Tawny Owl, Little Owl and Kestrel fortunes
There have been mixed reports for other box-nesting owl and raptor species that tend to be well-monitored by ringers and nest recorders. Alan Ball, Keith Bowden and Bob Sheppard reported that they had ringed just six Tawny Owl chicks in their boxes in Lincolnshire, compared to 130 in the same boxes in 2014. On the other hand, Bob Danson, in Lancashire, encountered 17 nests in 30 boxes—his second best annual total after last year—from which 26 chicks fledged, including four broods of three. Bob noticed that rats made up a higher proportion of prey in his Tawny Owl boxes, along with baby rabbits.Several recorders have spoken of Little Owls doing well this year, a species that is obviously less dependent on rodent prey. Alan Ball, Keith Bowden and Bob Sheppard monitored 65 nests and ringed 100 chicks, compared to 80 nests and 188 chicks in 2014. Bob Danson's 70 Little Owl boxes saw occupancy increase to 16 pairs in 2014, from 12 in 2014 and 7 in 2013. He recorded 36 fledged young altogether, including a brood of five and two broods of four.
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| Two recently fledged Kestrels photographed by Wilf Hockney, who accompanied Steve Baines on several of his Kestrel box rounds this year. |
Kestrel reports have also been positive. Steve Baines monitors 20 boxes in Chelmsford, Essex, and 13 had pairs this year, one of his highest occupancy rates, though he noted that clutch sizes were down relative to 2014: clutches of five and four but no sixes, and that the number of chicks fledged overall (36) was slightly lower than 2014. Bob Danson reported a similarly successful season for Kestrels in Lancashire and noted more bird prey in boxes than usual, including a Swallow. In contrast, Alan Ball, Keith Bowden and Bob Sheppard had monitored only 6 nests by mid-June, compared to 150 at the same time in 2014.
Late season comeback?
Although the breeding season has now finished for Tawny Owl and Little Owl—bar perhaps a few exceptionally late nests—there will still be a proportion of Kestrels tending to chicks, and of course there is the question of whether we will see any Barn Owl second broods or late-season nesting attempts in previously empty boxes. As Dave Leech has pointed out in a recent interview for Radio 4, this might happen if non-breeding females have managed to get into breeding condition, although Colin Shawyer has observed that vole numbers appear to remain very low. Either way, good data on the extent of late and repeat broods is essential for assessing Barn Owl productivity, which is why those late-season box checks are so important...The BTO Nest Record Scheme is one of the ways in which raptor populations are monitored in Britain & Ireland. These results are complemented by periodic single-species surveys and, in Scotland, by the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme.
Many thanks indeed to: Steve Baines, Alan Ball, Keith Bowden, Bob Danson, Wilf Hockney, Nigel Lewis, Frank Mawby, Mike McDowell, Geoff Myers, Colin Shawyer, Bob Sheppard, Judith Smith, Peter Wilkinson
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The Suffolk Community Barn Owl Project administers the monitoring of over 1,800 barn owl nest boxes in Suffolk with a few over the county boundaries in North Essex and South Norfolk. To date we have received reports for just over 50% of these boxes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough nationally it appears to be a poor year for barn owls, Suffolk has again somewhat bucked the trend in Eastern England at least, with box occupancy, particularly on the coast and in the main river catchments, having been relatively good. The shortage of voles has meant that barn owls have to hunt harder and longer, so this summer many have been spotted quartering fields and meadows in daylight, which is not a common sight in Suffolk. Seeing barn owls hunting in the middle of the day during the late spring and summer months maybe a breath-taking experience for the observers, but it is often not good news for barn owls as it usually means that their food is in short supply. Could it be that Suffolk barn owls are able to diversify more than those found elsewhere? When food is plentiful, barn owls will continue to take food to the nest and form larders. This is a form of caching food in times of plenty and allows the barn owl to brazen out hard times such as periods of rain when they would be unable to hunt. Early season larders were few and far between this year, but those that were found showed a good selection long-tailed field mouse, bank vole, common shrew, pygmy shrew and the far less common, water shrew. There were relatively few short-tailed voles in the larders.
An indication of how barn owls are faring is by the number of chicks ringed. Last year nearly 1,000 barn owls were ringed by the Group in Suffolk whereas indications for 2015 show that the total is unlikely to exceed 400, roughly a 60% reduction. To date we have noted barn owl presence in 320 boxes and ringed 314 chicks and ringed or re-trapped 60 adults. We are also aware of the presence of some late broods.
This year is unusual in that there is a double first-egg laying period, with many laying their first egg around the usual time of 20th April and then another batch laying in the second week of June. Boxes containing late broods are being monitored and it will be interesting to note whether these late broods will fare better.
Steve Piotrowski