NESTING boxes supporting Jersey’s barn owl population – which has grown significantly in recent years – have been repaired and replaced after Storm Ciarán.
JEP nature correspondent Bob Tompkins said his group of Jersey Barn Owl Conservation Network volunteers had been busy assessing a portfolio of nearly 300 nest boxes in trees around the Island.
Each nest is constructed by the team from scratch and is capable of providing barn owls with shelter for years.
Around 30 years ago there were estimated to be just five breeding pairs in Jersey, with the figure now standing at 60 – while a record number of chicks (92) was also reported last year.
Mr Tompkins said: “It’s [due to] a combination of factors. Being able to provide them with nesting boxes certainly helps, as well as the recording of them through the ringing programme.”
In November, Storm Ciarán struck the Island with winds in excess of 100mph.
Mr Tompkins said that the significant number of trees brought down resulted in around 20 of the Island’s 268 nest boxes being displaced – with at least seven damaged beyond repair. “The gales we have had have been exceptional, but the important factor is that we still have trees that we can find,” he continued, adding that all of the affected boxes had either been repaired or replaced.
