Flemish Knowledge and Training Centre for Nature and Environment De Helix

Do you see, in the gable, the walk-in pipe of the barn owl box?
A pair of barn owls is nesting in the former granary.
The habitat of the barn owls consists of semi-open cultural landscapes where they hunt voles, shrews and true mice at night. After all, barn owls can still see very well in very low light. They have excellent hearing and due to their adapted plumage they fly silently. The prey has little chance of escaping the outstretched claws. Adult owls swallow their prey whole. In the glandular stomach, the food is digested. In the gizzard, which lies above it, indigestible residues (skin, hair and legs) are compressed into a ball that is vomited out.
Barn owls are home-bound and loyal to their partner. They do not build a nest, but lay the 4 to 7 white eggs in a dark corner. The number of eggs depends on the food present. The eggs are usually laid every other day.
The female breeds and the male provides food. After about thirty days, the first young hatches from the egg. The chicks are born at about the same intervals as the eggs are laid. The helpless and bald young are kept warm and fed by the female. She never leaves the boy alone for long. After about 60 days, the young owls are independent.

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