Lyn Fraley -
22-Dec-2006 - The Environment Agency’s work with the Staffordshire
Barn Owl Action Group to encourage the distinctive and
beautiful barn owl to thrive in Staffordshire has been
given a boost with £4000 of additional funding to
monitor the success of the project.
Barn owl populations have declined severely
over the last 40 years. In Staffordshire alone the population
declined by around 70% and plummeted to fewer than 20
pairs in the 11000’s. Numbers have increased since then
and it is now estimated there are around 40 breeding pairs
because of positive management, but more needs to be done
to increase their numbers.
Barn owls usually nest in old trees
or barns, but unfortunately these habitats are becoming
rare, which is hampering breeding and dispersal. Over
the past year we have worked with the Staffordshire Barn
Owl Action Group to construct and erect 50 barn owl boxes
along river corridors. The boxes will provide new nesting
opportunities for these birds. The money will help fund
a five-year programme to monitor the boxes to assess the
success of these nest sites.
The monitoring programme will provide
valuable information on the current numbers of barn owls
in the county, and identify opportunities for managing
their habitat along the river corridors, which are ideal
corridors to help them re-colonise the county.
Biodiversity Officer, Frances Hall,
says: "The barn owl is one of the country’s most
distinctive birds. It is part of our heritage and culture,
and it has been very sad to see its decline, which has
been very severe in Staffordshire".
"We are optimistic that all the
hard work completed by the Staffordshire Barn Owl Action
Group will lead to a marked increase in the number of
barn owls in the county. The five-year monitoring project
made possible by this funding will help to make sure that
the project is a success".
Notes to Editor
Barn Owls
There are 5 species of owl in the UK.
The barn owl, although still the most widespread, has
had the biggest decline in recent years.
Height: Approximately 33cm.
Weight: 225-370 grams.
Wingspan: Approximately 85cm.
Colour: White on the underparts and light brown and grey
on the back. Females have spotted chests but males have
less, or no spots.
Habitat: Open countryside
Hunting: They hunt mainly at dusk and dawn, flying low
to the ground.
Diet: Small mammals such as mice, voles and shrews.
Pellets: Barn owls swallow their prey whole. As their
stomachs are unable to digest the bones and fur they cough
up a pellet containing all the undigested matter.
Nesting: Favoured sites include old barns, tree hollows
and nest boxes.
Breeding: Barn owls mate for life. Breed season is March/April,
although they can have 2 broods per year in favourable
conditions.
Clutch size: Generally 4-6, although 12 has been recorded.
Incubation period: Approximately 33 days.
Fledging: Around 50 days old.
Lifespan: Average 1-5 years in the wild, although in a
protected environment a barn owl can live up to 20 years.
Threats:
Loss of suitable roost and nest sites
– many barns are being converted into dwellings and old
trees removed.
Loss of hunting ground ie grassland
and hedgerows, due to intensive farming.
Roads – many barn owls are hit by traffic
as they hunt so low to the ground.
Harsh weather conditions eg floods,
if the owl’s prey gets wiped out they die of starvation.
Protection: The barn owl is protected
in the same way as any other wild animal in the UK, under
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in that it is illegal
to kill, injure, take from the wild or take or destroy
its eggs. It also has the added protection in that during
breeding season it is illegal to disturb the nest site
without a licence.
Global distribution: The barn owl has
a very large distribution, being found on every continent
except Antarctica.
UK distribution: Widespread across almost all of the UK.
Status: Relatively stable at approximately
4-5000 pairs. But this follows a huge decline of 63% since
the 1930s (70% in Staffordshire)
Interesting facts:
The collective noun for owls is a ‘parliament’.
It is said a barn owl can actually hear
a mouse’s heartbeat from 10 metres away.
In folklore the barn owl is also known
as the ‘ghost’ or ‘screech’ owl and was an ancient symbol
of bad luck, long associated with magic and witchcraft
Environment Agency staff support local
children at Christmas
Holly Smith - 21-Dec-2006 - Environment
Agency staff have shown they really care by raising a
huge £650 for National Children’s Homes this Christmas.
As part of the Business in the Community
Cares at Christmas campaign, Environment Agency staff
chose to support the National Children’s Homes (NCH) because
the homes are located near our Environment Agency Offices
in Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield and Newcastle under Lyme.
The NCH helps children achieve their full potential. Through
their services they support some of the most vulnerable
and excluded children in the UK.
A raffle and donations of gifts raised
over £650, which was donated to the National Children’s
Homes, with staff chipping in to win a Christmas Tree
cake, amongst other prizes.
Members of staff based at our Fradley
and Stafford offices collected gifts of toiletries to
send to their local Children’s Homes in Lichfield and
Newcastle under Lyme.
At our Sutton Coldfield office, team
members collected painting and art materials for the autistic
children at the nearby children’s home. Children from
this home currently have paintings on display in the Tate
Modern. In the New Year they will use their new painting
materials donated by the Environment Agency to produce
pictures that will be auctioned for charity.
The gifts were delivered to NCH on Tuesday
for them to distribute at Christmas parties this week.
John Betteridge, Environment Agency
Planning and Corporate Services Manager said: "A
truly remarkable sum in excess of £650 was raised
and the gifts were delivered in time for Christmas parties
at each of the Children’s Homes. The staff have shown
the true spirit of giving to less fortunate local kids
at this special time of the year. "
"Over 80 per cent of the UK population
live within 10 miles of an NCH project and we wanted to
help the projects that are close to each of our Environment
Agency offices. This charity provides an extremely diverse
range of projects and services, developed in partnership
with local agencies and children and families, so that
they meet the needs of local communities."
Environment Agency nets illegal eel
fisherman
Lucy Harding - 21-Dec-2006 - The Environment
Agency has prosecuted a Somerset fisherman who was caught
illegally fishing for baby eels in Rye, East Sussex.
Edward Gilbert of Culmhead, Tauton,
appeared before Hastings Magistrates on Tuesday 19 December
2006 and pleaded guilty to the offence. He was fined a
total of £600 and ordered to pay costs of £475
to the Environment Agency. Fishing equipment seized at
the time of Gilbert’s arrest was also confiscated.
On 12 April 2006 Environment Agency
Fisheries Officers, with the help from Sussex Police,
arrested Gilbert who had travelled up from Cornwall to
fish on the Scots Float Sluice in Rye, East Sussex. Approximately
300 eels were discovered in just one fishing tray at the
scene.
Questioned at Hastings Police Station,
the fisherman admitted to fishing for elvers, baby eels,
without a licence for the area.
The European eel is an ecologically
important species for our rivers, providing a food source
for species such as otters. Stocks of the vulnerable fish
are in decline as a result of several factors, such as
changes in the Gulf Stream, pollution, barriers to freshwater
migration and overfishing. The fishing of elvers can only
take place in areas where their stocks are maintained.
Under Section 27 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries
Act 1975, fishing for elvers in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire
is banned because of grave concerns over declining numbers.
Myles Robinson, Environment Agency Fisheries
officer, commented: “Through effective use of the powers
of stop, search, seizure and arrest that Environment Agency
Water Bailiffs have and with support from Sussex Police,
we were able to stop the fisherman from harming eel stocks.
I welcome the Magistrates comment that this was a very
serious offence. Unregulated eel fishing can seriously
damage the environment and offenders will be punished.
“In a bid to protect our eel stocks
we are cracking down on illegal fishing in the Kent area
by regularly patrolling our waters and will not hesitate
to prosecute anybody we catch, whether they are from the
local area or from further afield”
