This box was delivered weeks ago and we hadn’t got round to putting it up  – there were all sorts of placement instructions, involving close proximity of a branch for the owlets to jump out onto, the adults needing an unimpeded view of open fields from the box – it was complicated and we didn’t seem to be able to find the perfect spot.

Well, instead, we created the perfect spot by sawing off some branches of a pine tree and strapping the box into position beside a likely looking branch with a system of bungies and straps.

The box has a little tunnel built into it so that the bird has to crawl down the tunnel to enter the main cavity of the box, into which we have placed some wood chip.

The box has gone high up into a pine tree with a clear view over the first meadow.

It is strapped up firmly with a branch close by should any little owlets want to jump out to stretch their legs and wings.

We have never seen Little Owls here and so this is a bit of a leap of faith, but lets see what happens in the Spring because you never know.

Whilst we had the ladders out, we investigated all the boxes that were up this year. Neither Kestrel box had any signs of use, nor had any of the wren boxes. The woodpecker box had a nest in it…. but it was a Great Tit’s nest. And two other nest boxes had Blue Tits nests in them.

Here were the nests that we have removed. One had an unhatched egg in it and the other two each had a dead baby bird in them – but brood sizes are large for these birds and so many fledglings must surely have been launched into the world from these boxes this year.