Tralee by-pass claims another Barn Owl

The harsh reality, a Barn Owl killed by vehicle collision on the Tralee bypass yesterday (with thanks to P.McDermott).

This is the second Barn Owl killed on the Tralee bypass (that we know about) after one was found dead there in October last (see post below). Roads are a notorious killer of Barn Owls, as they generally hunt low and slow and as a result, are extremely vulnerable to traffic collision when crossing fast roads, especially on embanked sections where the birds fly low across the line of traffic. The Tralee bypass has several such lengthy embanked sections which makes it particularly lethal to Barn Owls.

The Barn Owl bore a ring on its' leg which revealed it had ben ringed as a female chick near Firies in Co. Kerry in July 2012, about 11km to the south. She was the eldest of a brood of three chicks. It is quite likely that she would had nested in the vicinity of Tralee in summer 2013.

John Lusby retrieving one of three chicks at the nest site where this Barn Owl was ringed in July 2012 (M.O'Clery).

The female Barn Owl, ringed, and ready to be put back into the nest. She would fledge within days of this photograph (M.O'Clery).

This female also featured in the wildlife documentary 'Living the Wild Life', which featured on RTE television in April and December 2013 (M.O'Clery).

The owl, being held by John Lusby shortly before being put back into the nest, in July 2012 (M. O'Clery).

New record for short-lasting nest box

A new Barn Owl nest box in north-west Kerry holds the record for the shortest period of use for any such box in Ireland – just 24 hours!

A Kestrel box and a Barn Owl box were both installed on 11th February in a disused Barn beside a derelict cottage. Here it is, nicely in place in the darkest corner of the Barn, sheltered from the rain.

The Barn and cottage, with Kestrel and Barn Owl boxes in place (M.O'Clery).

But the following day, the 12th, saw this forecast...

Wind forecast for 12th February (see more detail HERE).

...Violent storm force 11, with hurricane force winds on parts of the exposed west coast. Gusts of 160km per hour were recorded at nearby Shannon Airport. 

The winds that Wednesday lunchtime stripped the metal sheeting off the entire roof and dislodged slates and tiles from the adjacent cottage.

As mentioned in the post below, such storms can destroy and create new nesting opportunities for Barn Owls and Kestrels, and while the barn roof is gone, the attic space has now been exposed and could be exploited by Barn Owls for nesting. The chimney is still suitable for both species, and as the Kestrel nest box was of an outdoor type, we will leave it there and hope that it still might be used in the future. We'll have to find a new home for the Barn Owl nest box though...

Storms damage Barn Owl nest sites, but offer new opportunities

The recent (and ongoing) winter storms have caused huge damage around the country, especially in coastal areas, and the exceptional winds have already altered and damaged a number of Barn Owl nest sites.

This huge Beech tree with a trunk diameter of about 2 metres (6-7 feet) was blown over some weeks ago at a site in Kerry, right next to the only known Barn Owl tree nest in the county. It narrowly missed the nest tree and severed several large branches from the side with the nest entrance hole. Fortunately, the owls roost in a nearby derelict building in winter, so were unlikely to have been directly affected, but we will have to wait and see if they use the tree nest again with the surrounding branches stripped.

Lat year, at another site in Co. Kerry, slates were stripped from the roof of an old stone barn, some of which were directly over the nest site in an old chimney inside the building. In this case, the storm exposed the nest site to rain and rendered it unusable for the owls. We placed a nest box inside the barn and thankfully the Barn Owls moved straight in.

Several other recent visits to buildings known to have Barn Owls have shown some dramatic changes, with collapsed walls and gable ends, timbers down and slates blown off, but as the nature of many of these structures is one of ongoing decay and collapse, in some cases the storms will have opened up new roof spaces or cavities which the owls may be able to exploit.

A derelict mansion in Kerry where storms have collapsed a high wall, knocked down huge roof beams and stripped slates from the roof, but which has now opened a roof space in which owls might now be able to nest (All photos: M. O'Clery).