New nest box sites were identified throughout Duhallow during last summers' fieldwork, and after permission was granted from landowners, the boxes are now being put in place. They are all placed in trees, little-used buildings and/or barns. Winter is the perfect time to install them, as the territorial instinct in Kestrels and Barn Owls is low, and it will be late winter and early spring before their thoughts turn to nesting in the summer. Hopefully birds will discover the carefully placed boxes and move in to breed.
A Kestrel nest box is placed just inside an open-sided barn.
This old water tower on a private estate is a ready-made site for a Barn Owl box.
This Barn Owl nest box has been placed in the attic space of a derelict farm house. A Barn Owl was seen here last July, so the chances of the box being found by owls is high. FIngers crossed!
Another Kestrel nest box is placed on a Scots Pine in an area of open woodland and farmland.
