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Photo by Mack
Russell Photography, Greenville, AL
AWCA President Charles Kennedy
inspects small bones on the floor of a silo. These remnants of digestion
are the best evidence of the presence of barn owls. Project Silo prefers
to use silos that have actually been used by barn owls.
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Project
Silo is Working to Provide Salvation for Barn Owls
By
Kellie Henderson
Like
the small family farms of yester-year, the barn owl has seen a decline in
numbers across the United States, but one group of avian enthusiasts is
working to bring these birds salvation in the form of silos.
According
to Alabama Wildbird Conservation Association (AWCA) President Charles Kennedy,
what began as an attempt to locate barn owls on bird watching excursions grew
into a project that has provided dozens of nesting sites in the state.
"We’d
take a group out bird watching and every time we’d pass a silo we’d seek
permission to watch for barn owls roosting there. We’d see evidence the owls
were trying to nest inside but failing because the structures don’t provide
sufficient support for nesting. As a result, we often found eggs scattered
over the ground where they’d fallen or been eaten by predators," said
Kennedy.
"And
since people are building better structures for grain storage now, we’ve
been fortunate people are willing to make their abandoned silos available to
barn owls," he continued.
In
addition to the donation of silos, the AWCA seeks financial support and
volunteers to aid in the installation of these nesting boxes. |
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"So
far we’ve built dozens of the structures, but not nearly as many as we’d
like because it’s fairly expensive. Buying the materials, building and
installing support structures and transporting them to the silo costs a
couple hundred dollars for each house. The platform to support it alone
can cost as much as a hundred dollars to construct," he stated.
"We
tried several approaches to building and installing the boxes and the
support systems they need. We eventually got the kinks worked out, but
rarely are two situations the same," explained Kennedy.
Because
of the cost, Kennedy said they try to carefully screen volunteered silos
before actually traveling to the site where one stands. |
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"Most
silos in our state were built in the 1920s on small dairy farms. Often
they have rotted wooden roofs and are filled with water or garbage or
both. And most are difficult to enter and exit as we work. Two people
can do an installation, but three or four generally work better, so we
try to use volunteers from the surrounding area to help," he said.
"Most
of the silos we’ve built nesting boxes for are within 100 miles of
Greenville or Montgomery. As long as we have unused silos in the
immediate area, we feel like that’s the best use of our
resources," he said.
But
Kennedy also has bigger dreams for the future.
"We’d
like to eventually see a group of people from the Birmingham area learn
to build these nesting boxes and find funds and volunteers in another
part of the state," he said.
According
to Kennedy, the barn owl’s natural habitat is old-growth hollow trees
and caves, but because of current timber management practices the owls
have been driven to areas unsuitable for nesting, like hay lofts, bel-fries
and, of course, silos. He added barn owls can be of particular benefit
to farmers with pest problems |
Photo by Mack
Russell Photography, Greenville, AL
An example of the most
common silo found in the project area. When these silos are located in
good barn owl habitat, there are usually owls roosting in them. All of
the nest box installations are in silos similar to this one.
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Photo by Mack
Russell Photography, Greenville, AL
Project Silo
volunteers Tommy Russell (left) and Louis Adair measure the silo
entrance to see if the owl house will fit inside, one of the first steps
in placing nesting boxes. The entrance hole must be at least 20 in. x 20
in.
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because their diet
consists almost exclusively of mice, voles and rats. But Kennedy noted
the area around a barn owl’s nest can be rather messy.
"You
wouldn’t want one in your attic, but they can certainly be a help in
livestock areas and near orchards that have rodent problems," he
admitted.
In
addition to Project Silo, the AWCA has several other projects underway
including their newest venture to provide nesting boxes for American
Kestrels.
"We
placed the first Kestrel house in late November on the state Capital to
provide a more suitable home for Kestrel’s attempting to nest in the
gutter of the Capital," he said.
But
Kennedy also admitted he sees why Project Silo has become so popular.
"It
is our most colorful project, and those old silos are kind of romantic
and picturesque," he said.
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Kennedy
stated while the AWCA does not have a paid membership, the number of
people currently receiving their newsletter is between 600 and 700.
"We
began as a group of recreational birdwatchers and eventually evolved to
more of a conservation group, so we wanted a name that reflected what we’re
about," said Kennedy. The group was formerly known as the South
Alabama Birding Association.
For
more information on Project Silo or any other information about AWCA,
visit www.bamabirds.com.
Kellie Henderson is a
freelance writer from Troy.
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