The Canewdon Parish is well known for reports of ghostly apparitions, but if you venture onto Wallasea Island at dusk or dawn there is no need for fear. The spectral shapes you might see are more likely to be barn owls hunting for mice, shrews and rats along the field, seawall, saltmarsh and road margins.
This distinctive bird, with its heart shaped face, one metre wing-span and piercing shriek, is widely distributed around the globe, but like many farmland birds,the barn owl has suffered massive declines in recent years - amazingly there are actually more captive birds( under license) than in the wild nationally! Here in Essex we are lucky to have approximately 150 wild pairs. Unfortunately modern grain storage methods and use of rodent killers mean less rodent prey available to hunt, demolition of old barns, blockage of gaps in church towers and loss of big mature trees such as beech and elm have reduced roosting and nesting sites, plus collisions with vehicles and overhead wires have given these beautiful birds a rough time.
Enter local heroes Essex Boatyards, based at Essex marina on Wallasea, who have helped the RSPB give these birds and smaller species, new homes in the form of some very natty new nestboxes. Essex Boatyards, the Uks number 1 boat sales centre, who are better known for selling floating homes in the form of Fairline cruisers and marina facilities, are now in the business of providing berths for birds! Owner David Barke loves the birds as much as we do and so has been busy planting trees and putting up nestboxes on his site. Pride of place has gone to 2 magnificent barn owl boxes, placed high in some mature trees, of which there are very few around Wallasea.
The owls may take a while to take up residence, as anyone who has placed smaller nextboxes in their own gardens may know from experience. However, it is hoped that the inclusion of some wood shavings as starter bedding may encourage prospective ownership. Lack of waterproofing in their feathers forces barn owls to shelter on wet days, and outside the breeding season they can be inactive for up to 22 hours a day! To keep themselves warm they have a large number of downey feathers which gives them a rounded appearance, so we are all hoping the wallasea owls will approve of these plush new shelters !
I've gone wild on Wallasea!