Bisham Nest Box Group

Barn Owl numbers have suffered a dramatic decline in the UK in recent decades, mainly due to loss of habitat and nest sites, the latter because so many old barns have been converted to dwellings. They feed mostly on voles which live in permanent rough 'tussocky' grassland. Barn owls will readily adopt boxes for their nest sites so if you live near such an area of land and have a suitable secluded tree where a box could be sited it may be worthwhile putting up one of our boxes, especially if you see or hear reports of Barn Owls hunting nearby.

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We make the two types of Barn owl box shown below, so if you have a suitable outbuilding we would be happy to supply and install that type. If it's an open sided shed the box entrance can face inwards or, if it's a closed shed, the entrance can be placed so that it aligns with a hole cut in the shed wall. A suitable tree for mounting an external box must be substantial enough to take the weight of the box and enable secure fixing and if part of a woodland must be on the edge and facing out over the adjacent fields.

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The internal dimensions of our Barn Owl boxes are 50 cm x 40 cm x 66 cm high.

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PLEASE NOTE:

-In taking a barn owl nest box from us you must confirm that you are fully aware that the barn owl is listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 which affords the birds, their nests, eggs and young full protection at all times. It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb barn owls at an active nest site with eggs or young or before eggs are laid, or to disturb the dependent young.
-You must agree to allow licensed members of Bisham Barn Owl Group access to monitor your owl/kestrel box and to ring any occupants found as part of the BTO bird ringing scheme

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There is a wealth of detailed information on the Barn Owl Trust website www.barnowltrust.org.uk/

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The owl and raptor boxes need to be correctly sited and are best installed by us. Please contact us for advice on suitability of local habitat and location of the box. We are happy to visit to advise and also to install these if you are within 10 miles of Bisham. We ask for a modest extra donation for this (see price list).