After one of many strangest springs weather-wise, the Barn Owl season gave the impression to be in all places in 2023. We had common websites unoccupied, non-breeding birds at some websites and a few exceptionally late broods. Even now we now have a couple of websites the place we have to revisit to ring chicks!
With some new funding from the FiPL challenge (Farming in Protected Landscapes) managed by the Cornwall AONB, we’re persevering with to develop our monitoring, this yr onto the Roseland peninsula, with some new ringer recruits this yr as properly from the Nationwide Belief.
Our totals for the yr have been nonetheless fairly spectacular (be aware we have knocked off a few the early years to create space):
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Websites visited | 41 | 47 | 64 | 85 | 87 | 106 | 93 | 112 | 127 |
| Unoccupied | 11 | 12 | 23 | 34 | 36 | 43 | 35 | 34 | 29 |
| Occupied, no breeding | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| Common clutch measurement (the place noticed) |
4.6 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Common brood measurement (the place noticed) |
3.5 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Chicks ringed | 70 | 47 | 90 | 132 | 119 | 177 | 133 | 189 | 193 |
| Adults ringed/recaught | 17/8 | 14/9 | 21/14 | 18/14 | 16/15 | 22/17 | 19/17 | 20/22 | 30/24 |
Unsurprisingly there was once more some selection within the brood sizes throughout the realm, with the very best common once more alongside the north coast fared one of the best although (common brood measurement of three.7), adopted by the east of the county (3.5, in comparison with simply 2.3 final yr) after which 3.0-3.1 elsewhere.
There gave the impression to be extra motion between websites this yr, with one grownup even on its third website in as a few years! The actions between bixes (principally birds ringed as chicks dispersing) are proven right here.
