Struggling species helped to thrive again with birds grant

Nest boxes suitable for barn owls and kestrels are being installed at Tunnel End reservoir, next to Standedge Tunnel at Marsden, near Huddersfield.

Three A-frame nesting boxes are being installed by the Wildlife Conservation Partnership thanks to a £1,000 grant from The Waterway Trust.

A similar scheme on the Aire & Calder navigation, in the Wakefield area, began 10 years ago and last year five separate broods were found.

British Waterways experts work with the Wildlife Conservation Partnership to ensure the owls are ringed and monitored so specialists can understand the process by which the owl population is recovering following a steady decline in the 1980s.

Phillippa Baron, a senior ecologist for British Waterways, said: “This is a fantastic scheme which we hope in time will encourage the birds to nest and help preserve their population.

“Owls face a number of threats including the cutting down of trees, the destruction of natural grasslands and barn conversions, so it’s really important we do what we can to protect them.”

She added: “The waterways are home to many protected species and they provide an ideal home and feeding ground.”