The Willow & Asher Story
Introducing Willow and Asher, our barn owl pair, whose captivating story we will follow throughout the year. Willow and Asher are the perfect pair. Together, they will reveal the wonders of their world as we monitor their journey through remote a camera installed outside the box, and share their enchanting tale. Stay tuned for a year filled with remarkable moments of devotion, courtship, and the joys of barn owl parenthood. Join us on this captivating adventure with Willow and Asher, as their story unfolds.
This monitoring project is aimed at studying the behavior of these majestic birds. To monitor them responsibly, we have installed a Reolink remote camera, which plays a crucial role in our data collection. The box and camera system were installed in February and in the attached image, you can see the camera securely mounted providing a clear view of the entrance and surrounding area. The camera is connected to the 4G network, allowing me to remotely observe and record the owls' activities without disturbing their natural behaviour.
Asher flying around the local area
Our Barn Owl Owlets now have names…
With the “ The name the owlets “ competition now completed and all the voting has been counted, I’m very pleased to announced that our owlets now have names. It’s been a lovely end to their story and what a success it has been. We’ve witnessed the full life cycle of this barn owl family and followed the trials and tribulations as it unfolded. Asher and Willow have shown what devoted parents they were, with Asher tirelessly supporting Willow initially as she incubated the eggs but endless hunting trips to feed the growing owlets which has really only just stopped as they reached 15 weeks old. In total Asher has supplied well over 2000 food items which is incredible when you think about it. So without further delay, please meet:
ASPEN, JUNIPER & MAPLE
Well done Karen on your submission being chosen as the most popular and a print of Asher will be sent to you very soon.
Next year we hope Willow & Asher return to raise another family which we can catch on camera. We are extending this to include a camera inside the box so we won’t miss any of the action. We have also installed a new Tawny Owl box, complete with cameras inside and out so fingers crossed we see some interest in that. And of course, lets not forget the Badger clan which showed some wonderful moments with the newly emerged cubs. We will follow them more closely through this coming winter and into 2024.
And a big thanks to you all for you support on this project and for taking part in the competition. I hope you enjoyed it but please feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to see other stuff.
Latest News
Update Calendar - Click on the calendar dates to stay up to date with all the latest action at the barn owl box
Still being fed at 14 weeks - 26/9/23
Two of the owlets in daylight - 28/8/23
We have 3 owlets !! - 26/8/23
A bit of fun
Why not take part in this bit of fun and guess “ How many food items, Asher has brought back to the box to feed Willow and the young chicks in July “. If lots of people guess, then I might give away a print of Asher to one lucky winner who gets the closest.
Asher's July Catch Count
Thanks for all the guesses on how many food items Asher brought back to the box during the month of July. One person actually guessed the exact number and that person was Alicia with 236 food items. Well done Alicia and thanks to everyone that took part in this bit of fun.
We are now in September and over 2500 food items have been brought back which is an incredible number for one owl.
Fascinating Observations
The presence of remote cameras monitoring Willow & Asher has provided us with fascinating insights into the types of food they catch.
On the graph, you can see the type of food brought back to the box by Asher in the last 30 days. Field voles emerge as the primary food prey, followed by shrews and mice, with a couple of birds, in this case Starlings, completing the list.
This shows that the farming practices where the box is located is sustaining a good population of voles which support the local owls and raptor populations.
It’ll be interesting to monitor what Willow catching as she is now actively hunting to feed the owlets.