Read owl about it

Nidderdale Moorland Group

The main breeding season for our resident Barn Owls is usually from March to August with some successful pairs even rearing a second brood in years when there is a good supply of prey species, especially the Field Vole who makes up the main part of a Barn Owls diet.

By beginning incubation when the first egg is laid Barn Owls reduce the peak in food demands by spreading it over a longer period as there can be as much as three weeks age difference between the oldest and youngest chicks in a brood.

Incubation lasts 31-32 days with chicks hatching every 2-3 days, usually in the order that the eggs have been laid.

This is known as 'asynchronous' hatching.

Incubation is done by the female whilst the male provides all the food until the chicks reach around three weeks old and can regulate their own temperatures and then the female will join the male out hunting.

The first of this years fledging Barn Owls are now taking their first flights and it is looking to be a bumper year for these beautiful, graceful owls in the dale.

One of our moorland gamekeepers spotted this adult Barn Owl out hunting earlier this week as the sunset over the moor.

Broods of up to six chicks have been recorded so far this season in our Nidderdale Moorland Group Barn Owl Project nest boxes and so far 35 owlets have been ringed by our local Schedule 1 BTO bird ringer which will help with future monitoring of the survival rates and dispersal of our Barn Owls around the dale.