We enjoy sharing farm life

[15.05.2014]

Owl Delight

Acorn Dairy Welcomes Two New Pairs of Owls

We are delighted to welcome a new pair of nesting Barn Owls and Tawny Owls to our farm.
Our resident birdlife supporter & recorder Tom Dewdney, who some of you met on our evening farm walks in 2012, was doing his regular rounds last week and found we  have a new pair of Tawny Owls in a new nest box he erected on the farm last year. Really satisfying for all concerned.

At the same time, our herd manager Barry has seen a new Barn Owl silently fly passed whilst checking the grazing cows in the late evening a few times. This is new for us too, and together with Tom’s expertise, the guys have sited some more owl boxes around the farm (even to the extent of losing a bale space inside a straw shed…)

We have no photos to show you yet, but we do know why they have chosen our farm. Our dedication to preserving and promoting habitat for their prey. Our reversion meadow is populated with water vole. Gordon and Eddy are also part way through an extensive hedge laying programme. They are creating new, wide, healthy hedges giving further habitat for small mammals. The are natural wildlife corridors.

The owls are the top of a food chain, which benefits from our not using pesticides and herbicides in the management of the land to feed our cows…

Caroline Bell