July 3, 2011
Ecology, Residential
We are delighted to announce that on our first visit of the year to Coopers Edge Barn Owl mitigation site, five owlets have successfully hatched and are all doing well: a result of the Barn Owls moving onto the adjacent mitigation site and laying eggs in one of the nest boxes installed by us.
The offsite mitigation area was purchased by the Consortium of developers as part of the Coopers Edge development, and managed and monitored as a requirement of planning, in line with our Barn Owl Mitigation Action Plan, as a planning condition. The mitigation site had been created on an area of largely unsuitable farmland and has successfully been turned into optimal habitat for Barn Owls, as foraging habitat and with additional nest sites installed.
All works for Barn Owls have been undertaken under Barn Owl specialist, Colin Shawyer’s (Wildlife Conservation Partnership) British Trust for Ornithology Licence to disturb Barn Owls to permit the ringing of adults and young. Nut Hill was the first of its kind in the UK that had been created and has successfully achieved what it set out to do. Nicholas Pearson Associates will continue its role in managing and monitoring biodiversity at Coopers Edge into the foreseeable future.
Barn Owl photo © Colin Shawyer
