Rusland Valley Owl Project ^Featured

The World Owl Trust has been monitoring barn owls for a number of years in an area covering the Rusland Valley and Grizedale Forest. They are concerned that breeding pairs of barn owls are not using the south or west of the area, and believe that while there are large areas where they can hunt, there is a shortage of suitable nesting sites.

To help conserve them, the Trust is encouraging them to disperse and spread into the south and west of the valley by putting up a number of nest boxes in restored barns. They hope that the young chicks will move into these areas and breed.

Staff and trained volunteers monitor the nests during the breeding season (March – August) and gather information on dispersal, brood size and fledging rates to help inform future conservation work. More nest boxes are being erected over the next year and the Trust is running a workshop for local school children to educate them about barn owls and conservation issues in their local area.

Funds raised help provide nest boxes, nest monitoring, training for volunteers and education for local school children.

location: South Lakes
project delivered by: World Owl Trust, Forestry Commission