Sussex national park charity gives grant for owl boxes

The boxes, including six for barn owls, have been put up in the Lower Ouse Valley.

Sussex Barn Owl Study Group (SBOSG) applied for a grant to pay for the boxes from the South Downs National Park Trust’s volunteer conservation fund.

Terry Hallahan, leader of the SBOSG, told The Argus: "It is just fantastic, installing a box and a few months or a year later seeing it being used. 

"We formed about five years ago and two years ago we moved away from just barn owls to help other birds including little owls and kestrels.

"We are giving barn owl conservation in the region a more systematic approach.

"In that time the barn owl population has stabilised and increased."

The charity gave the group the funding and they were also able to install three little owl boxes with the grant.  

SBOSG is made up of volunteers who give their time to ring birds and record nests to monitor owl populations right across Sussex.

Barn owls have declined in Britain, due in part to the reduction of derelict old buildings and the use of pesticides, such as DDT, has also had an effect (Image: Bruce Middleton)

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The study group has been monitoring and maintaining these boxes, with some help from national park rangers.

Jan Knowlson at Landport Bottom, an area of chalk downland and woodland that sits just north west of Lewes (Image: SDNPA)

Jan Knowlson, biodiversity officer for the national park, said: “Barn owls are a really iconic species of our countryside.

“They’re a good indicator of the health of landscape because, as a general rule, the more barn owls we have, the healthier the ecosystem is.

“Landowners have a great affinity with barn owls because a long time ago they very often had an owl loft roosting or breeding in a barn, but many of those barns have been converted or lost over the years.

“Most of the landowners are very keen to have barn owls back and put up nest boxes, but they don’t always have the time to do it. That’s where the national park comes in advising landowners on nesting sites and boxes, working alongside the study group in Sussex and other experts across the national park.

“It’s fantastic that the study group can put up more boxes for these two owl species and we look forward to seeing the impact on population numbers.”

The trust encourages other groups to apply for its volunteer conservation fund. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2024.