Biodiversity and Wildlife News

Barn Owls breeding in Hurst

Barn Owl nest boxes were installed at three locations in Hurst last year, to give the birds a helping hand, as suitable nest sites were in short supply. On 30 June this summer, Colin Shawyer, the Barn Owl expert from the Hawk and Owl Trust, came to Wokingham District to open up the boxes and record the results for the national survey, writes Janet Spiller.

In spite of the lack of prey this year which leads to the adult birds being too underweight to breed, we were very pleased to find an adult female and three chicks at one location, and at another there was an adult female who, in a good year, Colin said would have bred because the habitat was ideal. It is encouraging that the two females were last year’s birds. This proves that it is possible to extend the range of Barn Owls by providing nest boxes in new areas with good habitat.

There were a few pellets inside the third box, but unfortunately, the bird had not stayed. It may be several years before Barn Owls take new nest sites and once they do, they use it for life. Colin was extremely pleased with the results and said they were as good as we could have hoped for! Future plans involve trying to extend the Barn Owl’s range into new areas of Hurst, building on the breeding success of the original nest boxes; monitoring will be done by a Barn Owl volunteer group.

Return of the Native!

Otters are back on the River Loddon. Experts have verified the first confirmed evidence of otters in Berkshire since their disappearance in the 1970s. Local volunteers have recently been trained to look for the otter droppings, known as spraints, so that the re-colonisation of the River Loddon can be charted. This is likely to be a slow process, but in the future we should have confirmation of otters in Hurst.

Know your Vole

Water Voles may be the UK’s fastest declining mammal but they seem to be surviving in Hurst! It is estimated that the water vole has vanished from 96% of known sites. The decline is due to predation by mink and the loss of their riverbank homes. It seems that in Hurst they are able to survive in the ditches, many of which stay wet all year.

The ‘Water Vole Recovery Project’ launched by BBOWT, the local wildlife trust, has trained local volunteers to survey Hurst and the surrounding area this autumn. This is the first step towards their protection. As Hurst is a sensitive area for Water Voles, the Environment Agency is now only clearing vegetation on one side of the main ditches. This leaves enough vegetation for the voles to eat through the winter. Many people mistake water voles for brown rats and accidentally poison them or disturb their homes. Water Voles have a blunt nose, small hidden ears, silky mid-brown fur and a short furry tail.