Lewis Raptor and Owl Group

Lewis Raptor and Owl Group A page to cover the work of the group covering the Wylye, Till and Nadder Valleys.

Well, what a rewarding day! Apart from a couple of ringing days at the end of the month, today was our last box check da...
15/09/2026

Well, what a rewarding day! Apart from a couple of ringing days at the end of the month, today was our last box check day, looking for possible second broods. These owls probably hatched as everywhere here was bone dry….and food was scarce, so we only found five single chicks, and one double, but this was still an improvement on last year. We found stock dove young in one box ( took them out so we could clean the box) and baby squirrels in another….again, removed so we could clean the box out. After a rainy start….beautiful blue skies and stunning scenery. Now all I have to do is data entry and end of season reports 😊

Hete for this weekend at the Great Bustard open day....pop along a d day hello :)
12/09/2026

Hete for this weekend at the Great Bustard open day....pop along a d day hello :)

Mark has been busy….two new boxes made which will replace old ones where the young can walk out and fall to their deaths...
04/08/2026

Mark has been busy….two new boxes made which will replace old ones where the young can walk out and fall to their deaths..did you know barn owls don’t recognise their young outside of the nest area? Thanks to Wendy and David for their continued support, which makes this possible.,

Another day...another delivery. Mark has been busy again.. this time making internal barn owl boxes. These went off to W...
26/07/2026

Another day...another delivery. Mark has been busy again.. this time making internal barn owl boxes. These went off to Wimborne St Giles estate, and will be replacing what we call ' walk out ' boxes. Where the opening is at platform level and the young can just walk out and fall to the ground. Barn owls do not recognise their young outside of the nest area, so unless they are found by humans and popped back...it's a death sentence for them.

For those of you who saw and commented on the post about rat poisons being used at a venue, and it ‘probably’ causing th...
15/07/2026

For those of you who saw and commented on the post about rat poisons being used at a venue, and it ‘probably’ causing the death of barn owls that lived next door…really pleased to say I had a call yesterday and the estate has worked with their pest control company, and they are changing to something that does not pass up the food chain. 🙂

A surprise find today....older barn owl box designs have a roosting compartment added as an annex. I had removed 2 owlet...
13/07/2026

A surprise find today....older barn owl box designs have a roosting compartment added as an annex. I had removed 2 owlets from the main compartment and returned them after checking condition, ringing and a clean out with fresh bedding. I put my hand into the roosting compartment and encountered some sharp talons...this lovely young lady was hiding there

We are coming to the end of this seasons box checks….with a whopping 182 barn owls ringed so far. Most don’t make it thr...
12/07/2026

We are coming to the end of this seasons box checks….with a whopping 182 barn owls ringed so far. Most don’t make it through their first year…but hopefully enough to give the local population a boost. We will go back to these smalls in about 5 weeks, see how many survived.

Sometimes, I get to do something very special….and last Sunday was one of those times. Nigel Lewis, who set up the owl g...
05/07/2026

Sometimes, I get to do something very special….and last Sunday was one of those times. Nigel Lewis, who set up the owl group I help run, put up some swift boxes at a local army camp. Last week I got to go help monitor and ring some of the young and adults. The green bug is a swift louse fly…little insects that live exclusively on the blood of swifts. Horrid little things, but quite amazing really.

Mark has been super busy these last few months….15 boxes for owls and kestrels are being delivered to Wylye Valley Farme...
02/07/2026

Mark has been super busy these last few months….15 boxes for owls and kestrels are being delivered to Wylye Valley Farmers Cluster group for distribution. Thanks to donations from David and Wendy, we have also been able to purchase supplies to make several internal boxes, to replace old fashioned ‘ walk out boxes’.

If ever an image proved there was a need for owl boxes....this is it. Recently fledged owl in kestrel.box.
01/07/2026

If ever an image proved there was a need for owl boxes....this is it. Recently fledged owl in kestrel.box.

Address

Warminster

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Lewis Raptor and Owl Group posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category