Picture courtesy Sue Thurley

2007 has seen a new wave of volunteering here at The World Owl Trust.

It all started in the middle of January with two training days, aiming to introduce people to the barn owl - observing its behaviour, hunting, habitat and prey. Also covered were signs to look out for in the breeding season: courtship displays; the different calls of the adults and young owlets food begging.

This has enabled willing volunteers to help us identify potential nest sites at the beginning of the breeding season. Volunteers also had a chance to “have a go” at small mammal trapping and look for signs of field voles’ activity in the form of food stores, droppings, etc.

We now have a number of volunteers going out around dusk, early in the breeding season and looking out for signs of barn owl breeding activity. This has been a great help as the barn owl surveying we carry out each year is a very time consuming process. It has also raised the plight of the barn owl on a local level and helped to forge relationships with landowners and local communities.

World Owl Trust Conservation Volunteers have also helped out with some important habitat management for barn owls here on the Muncaster estate, clearing brambles, bracken and tree saplings from the intake meadow. The end result is fantastic. With the succession halted, the area now supports a more healthy population of voles and other small mammals.

In April, a team of twelve National Park volunteers came to help with the recreation of a cornflower meadow. First all docks, brambles and any other particularly pesky weeds were removed. The area was then rotovated and raked before the whole area was sown with the seeds of Cornflower, Corn Camomile, Corn Cockle and Poppy. The weather was glorious and although hard work a fun filled day with a sense of achievement was had by all. The area is now coming up nicely and we will hopefully see a good show this year.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has volunteered so far.

Volunteers are still desperately needed to help with the loading the survey data onto the computer so if you are local to Cumbria and could spare an hour to help, we would be most grateful!!
Please ring the office on 01229 717393

Sue Thurley

Registered Charity Number: 1055489 Limited Company Number: 5296745

The World Owl Trust is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The Trust relies on a dedicated membership, visitors, donations and legacies.