A Shower of Voles

Vole Rains: A Turn of Fortune for Our Barn Owls

 

From the perspective of our local Barn Owls (Somerset), the past few weeks have been quite the rollercoaster ride—and not always in a good way. For a while now, there’s been a noticeable slowdown in the number of prey items being brought back to nest sites. This was a worrying development, and honestly, it could have spelled disaster for the growing owlets we’re watching this season. You see, 2026 has been a remarkable year in one respect: we’ve got some exceptionally large broods out there. More hungry mouths to feed is usually a wonderful thing, but it also means there’s zero room for error when food supplies start to dip.

 

I’ve written time and time again about how weather conditions can make or break a breeding season, and how weather is often the main culprit when broods fail or numbers drop off. In April, as the dry spell dragged on, I really started to get that uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. I’d seen this play out before: parched ground, slow-growing grass, and with it, a crash in the populations of the small mammals that Barn Owls rely on almost entirely—especially the short-tailed vole. It felt like we might be heading straight into another tough, lean period, and with such big broods to support, the stakes felt high.

 

One thing that’s been an absolute godsend, though, is our network of nest cameras. These have changed everything about how we monitor and understand what’s going on. Gone are the days when we had to visit nests physically to check on progress—which always carries some risk of disturbance. Now, I can simply sit back with a hot cup of coffee, watch the live feeds, and absorb every detail of what’s happening right there in the nest, without interfering at all. It’s given us such a clear window into their world, and this year, that insight has been invaluable.

 

Just a few days ago, on May 12th, during the Hawk and Owl Trust live show, I spoke at length about exactly this situation. I explained how prey deliveries had slowed to a trickle, and how the dynamic inside the nests had shifted dramatically. Only a few weeks earlier, many nests had what we call a “larder”—surplus food stored away, ready for when times got tough. That safety net had vanished completely. Now, there was no backup, no extra supply; whatever the male owls caught on each hunt was exactly what the family got to eat that day. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

You could see the pressure they were under. Normally, Barn Owlscan hunt day and night, but through observation we find them normally hunting under the protective cover of darkness. But these males were getting desperate. We started seeing them out hunting during the daytime too—braving bright sunshine, open fields, and all the risks that come with being active when they’d usually be roosting. This isn’t good news at all. Hunting by day and then at night drains their energy reserves much faster, putting them under real physical stress. It also makes them far more visible and vulnerable to predation. It was a clear sign that they were doing everything possible to keep their mates andOwlets alive, but it wasn’t sustainable long-term.

 

Then came the turning point. On May 3rd, something amazing happened: it rained. Not the long, relentless storms that can also cause problems, but short, sharp showers—just what the doctor ordered. Even now, as I write this on May 15th, it’s still raining off and on. The pattern has been perfect: bursts of rain, sometimes quite heavy, followed quickly by bright spells of sunshine. It’s exactly the combination that makes all the difference to the landscape.

 

Why does this matter so much? Well, it all comes down to our old friend that champion keystone small mammal the Short-tailed Vole. This can be the mainstay of a Barn Owl’s diet round theze yer partz, and their entire life cycle is tied to the grass. When the ground dries out and grass stops growing, voles struggle to find enough food, their breeding slows down, and numbers drop sharply. But give them rain followed by sun, and the grass shoots up, lush and green. And when the grass grows, the voles thrive.

 

Short-tailed voles are incredible breeders. Once conditions are right and the vegetation is thick and nutritious, they start pumping out young again. What’s more, their offspring grow incredibly fast—they can start breeding themselves at just three weeks old. That means their populations bounce back with astonishing speed. I’m already confident we’ll start seeing more prey being caught and brought back to nests very soon. Before long, I hope we’ll see those nest larders filling up again, giving the owls that vital safety margin we were missing just a couple of weeks ago.

 

There’s one more big factor that will shape how well things go from here: grass cutting. In many areas, fields are cut for silage, which is a crucial winter feed for livestock—but it’s also a major event for wildlife. When fields are cut right up to the very edge, every bit of cover disappears, and voles lose their homes, their food, and their protection from predators.

 

So, I’m going to make the same simple request again to every farmer and landowner reading this: whenever you can, please leave a strip of tall, uncut grass right along the boundary of your fields. It doesn’t need to be wide—just a narrow margin makes a huge difference. That small patch of long grass becomes a sanctuary. It’s where the voles can live and breed safely, and where our Barn Owls can hunt successfully. And it’s not just good for owls and voles; it helps all sorts of wildlife, from insects and small birds to hedgehogs and shrews. It really is one of the simplest, most effective things we can do to support nature on our doorstep.

 

This morning, though, I feel genuinely positive. It’s rare that I get to write about a situation where the weather has actually played ball and given wildlife exactly what it needs just when it mattered most. The rain has arrived, the grass is growing, the voles will bounce back, and our hardworking owls can breathe a sigh of relief. After a few nervous weeks, things are definitely looking up—and I can’t wait to see what the cameras show us next.

 

Getting ready for bird song

 How Bird Song Can Help Us Better Understand The World Around Us

 

 

Introduction

 

We all know that birdsong is one of the joys of spring, but did you know that it can also tell us a lot about the birds themselves and the world around them?

Some of the first birds to sing normally around February are the  Blackbirds. They sing to establish their territories and to attract mates. The Robin sings all year round, and its song can tell us about the bird’s health and the time of year.

Birdsong is not just a pretty sound – it can be a valuable tool for understanding the world around us. Whilst Song Thrush can be singing in January it seems very temperature inspired much like the others but more obvious. 

 

 

 

What is the significance of bird song?

 

 

Birdsong is an important communication tool for birds in the wild. Birds use different songs and calls to mark their territory, attract potential mates, and to warn other birds of danger. Different species of birds use different types of songs to communicate with each other and to identify themselves. For example, a male robin will often sing a distinctive song to claim its territory, and a female will chirp back in response. Birdsong can also tell us about the health of a bird. A distressed bird will often emit a different type of call than one which is healthy and content. By listening to birdsong, we can get a better idea of the health of an individual species, which can help us gain a better understanding of its environment. Aside from birds, bird song can also be very important to humans. We have been appreciating and researching birdsong for centuries, and it has been used as a way to bring joy, relaxation, and pleasure. Listening to birdsong can be calming and can help us to connect to nature in a deeper way. // 

How can bird song help us understand the world around us?

 

 

By observing and listening to bird song, we can gain insight into the behaviours and habits of birds. We can use this knowledge to gain a better understanding of the birds’ ecology, such as their diet and nesting habits, as well as the larger environment in which they live. By listening to bird song, scientists can also gain a better understanding of the climate, habitat, and landscape in which the birds live. Bird song can tell us a lot about the health of a region, such as whether there are large amounts of pollutants or other environmental pressures. By monitoring the bird songs at different times of the year, scientists can gain a better grasp of the changes taking place in the local habitat. In some cases, we can even learn about the mood of a certain population by listening to bird song. For example, some species of birds are only known to sing in the spring, which could indicate that the birds are feeling upbeat and ready to mate. // 

What are some specific ways that bird song can help us?

 

 

First and foremost, bird song can help us to better understand the birds themselves. By listening to and observing different types of bird song, we can gain insight into their behaviours, diets, and nesting habits. This information can be useful in conserving and protecting the local bird population. Second, bird song can also tell us a lot about the environment in which the birds live. By listening to bird song, we can gain a better understanding of the climate, habitat, and landscape in which the birds live. Scientists can also use bird song to monitor the health of a region, including the levels of pollutants or human interference. Finally, bird song can also tell us a lot about the mood of a certain population of birds. We can determine whether they are feeling happy and ready to mate, or whether they are feeling distressed. By making us aware of these different feelings, we can better understand the behaviour of the birds and the forces that are impacting them. 

To wrap things up

 

 

 

There is no denying that bird song can be a beautiful and calming sound. But, it also provides us with a valuable tool for understanding the birds and their environment. By listening to and observing the different types of bird song, we can gain insight into the birds’ behaviours and their environment. This information can be invaluable in helping us to conserve and protect local bird populations.

 

The Barn Owl Project Ringing

Dawn 18th May

The Blue Tit and the Wolf

In January 2013 I was privileged to travel to Sweden to present 3 programmes for BBC Radio 4.  The week before my visit the temperature around Stockholm had been almost constantly -15 to -20 degrees centigrade, but when I arrived it was a mild -2.  The snow was deep everywhere, except the roads, pavements and runways which were kept efficiently clear so that life could carry on uninterrupted.  I was to record 2 full programmes for the Living World Series; one being about birds of the Taiga Forest and the other about tracking large carnivores, as well as a short piece for the Saving Species series.  The stories seemed very different, yet they would ultimately come together, highlighting the unexpected links between species and proving that nothing lives in isolation.

  

The producer for this trip was Mary Colwell, we started in the county of Vastmanland, which is roughly the same latitude as the top of Shetland.  I was in awe as our guide WWF Sweden's Tom Arnbom pointed to the south and said “there you can see the last Oak tree, now look north and this is the start of the Taiga forest”.  The Taiga (also known as the Boreal) Forest is a band of coniferous trees that circles the globe just beneath the largely treeless tundra of the far northern hemisphere. It runs through Canada and Alaska, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Japan, and makes up 29% of the world's forest cover; making it the world's largest land biome.  It was obvious that any wildlife surviving here all year round needed to be tough, and I was astonished by how many species were not only surviving but thriving in this forest.  

As we set out our wolf tracker guide informed us that we were in the heart of Swedish wolf territory, and that there were several packs in the area.  Grey Wolves have made a good recovery in Sweden after being shot out completely in the 1960’s, the first Wolves only returned in 1983, and there are now around 170-200.  A pack of Wolves in Sweden only contains family members; 2 adults and their pups, so not the extended family that most people are familiar with from North America.  With great excitement and help from our Swedish wolf tracker we found our first Wolf track.  With recent snow fall we had to uncover the footprint from just beneath the fresh Snow, and as we moved on our tracker, Pierre, a local ranger, informed us that we were following two wolves.  

Further on into the trees we found obvious signs of wolf territorial markings where both adults had been marking against trees in much the same way that that dogs do.  After a few miles it became noticeable that the tracks were becoming very much clearer, and there was no need to move fresh snow from the prints any more.  Pierre informed us that these tracks were only an hour or so old.  We measured the prints and they were 11cm long (I compared it to my Lurcher cross Doberman dog at home whose print is 7cm long!).  Amongst these very fresh wolf tracks we could now see other tracks.  A Mountain Hare appeared just in front of one of the wolves, and then Pierre pointed out that something else was following the wolves.  The tracks were familiar to me, it was a Fox.  Slightly further on we found a great disturbance in the snow, not a kill but perhaps a close shave.  It was obviously Wild Boar moving off the path at speed followed by an enormous 3-4 meter leap from one of the Wolf….and still the Fox was following.   Pierre explained that when the wolves make a kill (usually wild boar or moose) there will always be left overs, and this is why the fox was following them.  He explained that foxes aren’t the only animals that do this.  Wolverines and even Pine Martens are known to follow wolves too.  Throughout our time tracking the wolves we saw many different species of bird, including the Nutcracker and the magnificent Crested Tit.  One big surprise for me though was seeing lots of Blue Tits.  This bird is so familiar to us all, and is one we worry about during our cold spells in Britain, yet here it was in Sweden where the night temperatures can be as low as -25 to -30.  As I marvelled at the sight of these birds in such harsh conditions Tom Arnbom mentioned that they also follow the wolves.  He explained that once all the predators have had their fill great flocks of these small birds will descend upon the Wolf kill and strip clean any leftover meat and fat.  This is what gets them through those cold Swedish nights, which of course is no different to us at home putting out the fat balls.  This all just shows how delicate the balance of nature is, and how many species would be affected if the Wolf was removed from its environment. 

If you missed both The Living World programmes from Sweden, you can listen again to both Taiga Birds go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qkx9w and Wolf Tracker go to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qsr8j  Both Programmes were produced by Mary Colwell and are a BBC Natural History radio production. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Special thanks to WWF Sweden's Tom Arnbom.

Somerset Barn Owl Project. The farmer that gave up a field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_tblrlQcY

Somerset Barn Owl Project. The farmer that gave up a field.