Rich Harris and Paul Watkins Owl conservation, Gloucestershire

All over the world devoted individuals are doing their bit by volunteering to be involved with wildlife. Jo Price meets two men who are helping breeding owls in the South West of England.

We meet two retirees who are giving their all to Gloucestershire’s barn owls Volunteer: Working for Nature

For the past three years retirees Rich Harris and Paul Watkins have been making, installing and monitoring owl boxes in Gloucestershire after discovering the county’s lack of suitable nest sites. “To date we have built and put up over 300 boxes,” says Paul. “We specifically target barn, tawny and little owls, and more recently the kestrel.”

Experience has taught Rich that barn owls are more likely to occupy internal nestboxes sited in barns rather than external nestboxes, which are often taken up by jackdaws and squirrels. “In modern barns there is nowhere safe for owls to breed and old stone barns have either been converted into houses or have fallen down due to age,” he explains.

Prior to working with Paul, Rich helped increase the barn owl population in Radstock and its surrounding Somerset countryside – from one breeding pair in a tree hole in 1995 to 17–21 known pairs – as a member of Cam Valley wildlife group. He also encouraged local farmers to change their agricultural practices. “Habitat is as important as providing homes for the owls,” he says. “The farm should have tussocky grassland or field margins where owls can hunt mice and voles.”

After moving, Rich set up the Southam and District Owl Conservation Project with Paul and continues to help breeding owls in a mixture of habitats with other volunteers. “We give up as much time as we can, especially during peak nesting and inspection season (April to July) when we can work five to six days a week,” says Paul.

Rich looks after sponsorship applications and procures materials to build the boxes in his garage while Paul finds suitable sites to erect boxes and collects vital data on the owls such as location, landowner details, occupancy and number of chicks. “It’s great to work with a lot of like-minded individuals who are supportive of our aims and the needs of wildlife,” says Paul.

From logging information on the owls and observing them in the field, the dedicated duo has recorded species adopting new territory, increasing their range and breeding successfully.

The pair’s recent figures reveal that barn owls bred in 11 boxes in 2017, and this year tawny owls have been nesting in 17 boxes and little owls in six (up from four last year). “It’s a joy to see a box taken up with a family of young owls about to fledge,” says Paul. So, what’s next? “Build more boxes!”

During peak nesting season we can work five or six days a week.