Barn Owls "Tyto alba"

Owls are fascinating birds and there are many different species with the tawny owl and the barn owl, the most common varieties in the UK. Because owls are birds of prey unless you live in the countryside or in a similar area which attracts a good population of rodents, such as in an area with a good amount of rough grassland nearby, it’s unlikely that an owl will take up roost in your garden. However, if your surrounding environment is suitable or you’re aware that owls do, indeed, frequent the area in which you live, it’s worth providing an additional nesting site in your garden if you want to attract them. If you’ve a large garden or have acres of land, it’s useful to leave some grassy areas unmown as this will attract rodents as it provides cover but is also a good hunting ground for owls. Also keep grassy edges alongside hedges and ditches unkempt and provide lookout posts for the owls to perch on. TheTamshee: is hooked, the graceful owl is a majestic creature of great beauty. The Indy kids have listened to the Twit-twa-Woo on many occasions in close proximity to Inchgarth. This lead to TheTamshee getting the 10,000,000 million candle torch, with kids in tow, out searching the surrounding big sycamores and chestnut tree to see if we could track down this solitary and nocturnal bird with the piercing eye's. The Indy kids interest in owls was first ignited when we pitch up at Cayton Bay Caravan Park close to Scarborough. After flying the kites in an adjacent field for some time, we headed back to the park while walking through an area set aside for wildlife - when we came across a large nesting box with the big eye's of two young owls jockeying for prime position at the nesting box entrance. We observed the birds for some days thereafter but left for home before the fledglings made their first flight. These great memories have inspired me to make a nesting box in an attempt to attract our very known resident owl. Time will tell.