Out of the ordinary findings

While out checking boxes in a search for our elusive barn owls we do quite often find other birds or wildlife, and in these cases the boxes was well and truly occupied!

The below is a box near Anderton, Cheshire that we initially checked early in summer 2017 along with a number of other boxes on the same site, no joy finding our feathered friends however on the approach to the box we could hear an faint noise. A buzzing grew louder as we got closer and as chairman John got ready to climb up the ladder to check I shouted him down as I could see a number of honey bees flying around the entrance to the box!

We left well alone, and for our own safety too! And later in the same year went back to see if the bees had moved on, and this is what they left behind.

Not 3 miles away from the bee site was a tree box that had unfortunately fallen a couple of months earlier and was in need of being put back onto the tree. On a positive note the box hadn’t been damaged from the fall. Our usual practice when finding a box in this state is to empty it as soon as possible and it turn it face side down to save it from getting overly damp from the rain, however, once we opened the door to peek inside it was already home to a new family…

A closer look…

Even closer…

We left the chicks to fledge and returned later in the year to get the box back in the tree where it belonged.

Has anyone else come across other wildlife taking residence in a barn owl box?