Dennis Round & Nell

Our main guest this week could not give a hoot, well strictly speaking our visitor, a lady barn owl called Nell doesn’t hoot anyway. She may screech but most of the time her minder, Dennis Round accompanied by his daughter Deana told us that Barn Owls are silent, silent flyers and silent killers when seeking their prey.
Dennis told us that his interest began, when as a boy he assisted Tony Warburton at Muncaster Castle Owl Centre. He told us that in Britain we have 6 native species, Barn owls, Tawney owls, Little owls, Long eared and Short eared owls (they aren’t ears but tufts of feathers!) and finally the famous Hedwig of Harry Potter stories, the Snowy Owl resident only in the far north of the country.
We were told that they have three types of feathers, camouflage (we saw some incredible examples of how owls hide themselves), insulation and flight. He compared the Barn owl flight feathers with a pigeon’s, the pigeon has hard edged flight feather, in use they produce vortexes and consequently sound, the Barn owls flight feather “edges” incorporate a line of “baffles” which make their flight completely silent.
Dennis then told us about their eyes, he said that Nell’s eyes were dark compared to a Tawney owl’s pupils which are yellow, the dark eyes absorb light, they are night time hunters, whereas the Tawney owls eyes reflect light, they are day time hunters. He then contrasted the hunting methods and territory, the Barn owl hunts in open areas and hunts on the wing, striking its prey with a force 32 times its own weight. Other types stick to woodlands, perching high in the trees until they spot prey which they will then swoop on.
The Barn owl, being an open country hunter also requires shelter, in the past, farm buildings hence their name. One of Dennis’ objectives is to erect nesting boxes through out the district. They enable him as a licenced operator to keep a check on the Barn owl population but also to provide essential shelter in areas devoid of it. Currently he has 16 in the Ulverston area and seeking more locations throughout Furness.
What do they eat ? Most owls are competing for the same food, 50% of their diet are field voles, 20% shrews, 10% wood mice and 5% brown rats. In extremis, when they are hungry, they will also eat frogs and insects.
They also like to bathe in water and farm troughs often prove deadly, they alight on the water (thinking it is just a puddle) and quickly sink and are unable to get out. Dennis has constructed a simple wooden frame covered in mesh, it fits inside the trough floating on the surface, does not interfere with animals drinking and also prevents bathing owls from sinking and drowning in the deep water.
Dennis told us he liked to talk to farmers about simple methods which help all wild creatures. Allowing roadside hedges to grow to 3m high, helps to prevent birds flying across roads being killed by vehicles. DEFRA provide grants to farmers to allow 10 to 15 m strips of uncultivated land at the edges of fields. They are win, win situations, providing flowers for pollinators who also pollinate crops such as potatoes. In time the grass, growing and dying producing a litter layer of dead grass  providing vital habitat for invertebrates such as voles, field mice etc.
Nell three years old and wise beyond her years, simply sat on her perch and looked occasionally at us, but was mainly interested in what was happening outside, perhaps what tasty morsel might be wandering across the golf course ?
After questions, Graham Postlethwaite proposed a Vote of Thanks to Dennis, Deanna and of course Nell.