Barn Owls get new lease of life at Northern Ireland military ranges

Barn owls in Northern Ireland are being given a new lease of life, thanks to the help of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) staff at Ballykinler Training Area and the Ulster Wildlife Trust.

Range staff at Ballykinler have been working with conservation experts to construct and build 12 bespoke barn owl nesting boxes around the training area. These will provide additional nesting sites within the training estate, including the Todds Farm complex.

Talking about the project, John Willesley from the Ulster Wildlife Trust said:

“Barn owls are being threatened by extinction in Northern Ireland with as little as fifteen breeding pairs left.

“It is hoped that these nesting boxes will encourage the birds to come on to the camp and take up residence. Once barn owls take up residence in nesting boxes they come back year after year so we are hopeful that this project will be a success as we have a local breeding pair not far from Ballykinler.”

The nature of the landscape at Ballykinler provides the ideal environment for barn owls to nest, and it is hoped that the introduction of these bespoke nesting boxes will in turn help to increase the numbers of barn owls in Northern Ireland.

Major Tony Canniford, Senior Training Safety Officer for Ballykinler Training Centre said:

“Whilst DIO’s priority is to support our Armed Forces as they prepare for operations, Ballykinler is a diverse training area offering the ideal location and environment for barn owls to breed, with a number of secluded places that are ideal for the birds.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and effort making the nesting boxes for the owls and we hope that our hard work will pay off. We are hoping that by working together with the Ulster Wildlife Trust we can help to increase the population of barn owls in this area.”

Ends

Further information:

Press enquiries to Tony Moran, Senior Communications Officer 0121 311 3879

or email tony.moran572@mod.uk

DIO website: www.gov.uk/dio

Twitter: @mod_dio

Read DIO’s blog: https://insidedio.blog.gov.uk/

Notes to Editors       

1) The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) plays a vital role in supporting our Armed Forces by building, maintaining and servicing what the men and women who serve our country need to live, work, train and deploy on operations.

2) DIO is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is responsible for managing and maintaining land and properties, as well as providing related support services, to meet the current and future needs of the MOD and personnel at home and abroad, and to support current operations.

3) Our work includes supporting operational units by providing and improving single living and service family accommodation; training areas and historic military sites. DIO actively manages these to ensure the needs of Defence are met, value for money is achieved, and its heritage is protected, and to achieve its environmental goals.

4) Picture Captions – please credit ‘Crown copyright/MOD 2014:

DIO staff installing nesting boxes at Ballykinler Training Area

A barn owl at Ballykinler Training Area

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