Manley Farm Bird & Wildlife Sanctuary Update

An update from a site visit March 20, 2017:

Lots of pellets were found in the barn. In the barn owl box, there were some pellets, which is a great sign. They use pellets as material to nest, so whilst they didn’t nest in it last year, it shows they are using it and thinking about it this year.

We found that in one of the small owl boxes, there was a saw-whet owl feather, so it has been used. In another, we found a lot of moss and some nesting material. We have put in some woodchips for the owls, and for the songbird boxes, some had been used by insects, but we found one with a complete nest, and another with a partly constructed nest.

Given they were put up a little late last year breeding (in May), this is a great result, and given the position of the property, to have some empty, shows that birds are using natural sites as well. Looking confident we will get some really great results this year too.

The eagle nest is high in a tree behind the barns, and is clearly visible from the road. We saw the male bringing in nesting material. A future project that is potential given the location of the site, is to add a camera up there to monitor if we get the resources to do so. We are now putting up cameras in the barn to see the barn owls using the nest box, and also to see what is happening with the other owl boxes.

We also found a cougar print heading up towards the gravel pit.