GIVE A HOOT!
Jordans Launches Competition to ‘Adopt A Barn Owl’
Jordans Cereals, a passionate advocate for preserving Britain’s beautiful countryside, is launching ‘Adopt a Barn Owl’ - a competition that gives owl lovers the chance to name their very own barn owl chick. This marks the start of Conservation Grade’s™ Project Barn Owl research, in partnership with Jordans.
There are four chicks waiting to be named, so simply visit http://www.jordanscereals.co.uk/ with your suggestion. The winning names will be chosen by Bill Jordan founder of Jordans Cereals and the Conservation Grade™ team. Each winner will receive an adoption certificate, picture of their chick, a free family pass to Bill Jordan’s Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk - which is also a Conservation Grade™ farm - plus a year’s supply of delicious Jordans Cereals.
The deadline to enter the competition is Sunday 4th September 2011 (terms & conditions apply).
PROJECT BARN OWL
Project Barn Owl will use barn owls as ‘scientists’, to study whether more barn owl chicks survive to fledge because of the healthier habitats found on Conservation Grade™ farms versus conventional farms. Monitoring the presence and breeding success of barn owls on Conservation Grade™ farms and comparing it with data from other barn owl studies* will reveal how successful Conservation Grade™ farming is.
Jordans has been working with Conservation Grade™ for over 25 years, sourcing all its cereals from nature friendly farms. In all, it is estimated that Conservation Grade™ farmers are now managing around 65,000 acres of wildflower meadows, hedgerows, grass margins, woodlands and wetlands so creating habitats for many of the UK’s best-loved wild creatures, including the barn owl.
The reason the new study is focusing on barn owl fledging rates is that the birds are at the top of a countryside food chain and only thrive where the eco-system is healthy enough to support a rich variety of other animals and species.
Another factor is that although barn owls are a defining icon of rural British life, their numbers have fallen sharply since the 1930s when there were an estimated 12,000 pairs. Today it is estimated that there are just 6,000 – 8,000 pairs in the UK (Source: Barn Owl Conservation Network - BCON). The reasons for this decline include a loss of nesting sites, connected habitat, lack of winter food and severe winters. Typically, the survival rate of barn owls in their first year is less than 30% (source: BCON).
The project will be managed by licensed experts who will be recording the results. These will be announced in September 2011.
So what are you waiting for? Get behind Project Barn Owl and enter the ‘Adopt A Barn Owl’ competition to help barn owls thrive.
* The results will be compared to barn owl monitoring data available from the Barn Owl Conservation Network, British Trust for Ornithology and RSPB.
Barn Owl Facts
They’re excellent at detecting the subtle noises of their prey – they also have a strong memory of noises
Barn Owls like to live in barns; that's how they got their name. They've adapted to man-made structures like attics, silos, steeples, and, of course, man-made nesting boxes
Barn Owls eat mainly small mammals like voles, shrews and mice.
It’s a common misconception that barn owls hoot, they in fact screech
A barn owl is about the size of a small cat, but on average only weighs a pound
The barn owl’s huge wing area accommodates a slow silent flight. It’s silent due to soft fringe-edged feathers that don't "swoosh" as they move. A silent flight means curtains for an unsuspecting rodent
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Anything to help our wildlife must be good and they do look cute!
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