What We Do
The Volunteers
The group is run entirely by volunteers. Each volunteer is qualified, licenced and trained to enable them to monitor the boxes. This training is provided by BTO and other conservation bodies. Information gathered from monitoring is reported to and compiled by BTO. This information then forms part of national policy to further enhance the conservation of the birds that have been monitored.
Before we can get to this point the volunteers construct boxes at the workshop in Aylesbury. They establish relationships with landowners identifying potential box locations, erect the box and then begin the monitoring process.
Each of these stages requires different skills . If you think you have any of the skills or interests to help contribute towards the group please contact us.
Click HERE for information on volunteering.
The Land Owners
The Barn Owl and Kestrel were both listed under RSPB classification as Amber Status meaning they have unfavourable conservation status and are still in decline generally.
Projects such as BORG have a positive impact on populations because we are providing a safe environment to roost and breed and encourage habitat enhancements to further encourage success.
Barn Owl box charged at £125, all others boxes £75 which includes erection. All our boxes are made from STOKBORD, which is produced from recycled farmers plastic film used in wrapping hay, straw and silage bales etc.
Click HERE to contact us about having boxes on your land
The Birds
The birds we concentrate our conservation efforts on, are those that often take up residency in man made boxes. These boxes replicate the natural sites such as holes in trees and crevices in barns, which are becoming scarce.
When BORG was created it was believed there were less than 20 pairs of barn owls in Buckinghamshire. We now believe there are in excess of 100 breeding pairs. Recently the British Trust for ornithology has changed their barn owl reading to green, meaning the population is now stable.
We believe projects such as ours are having a positive impact on improving and stabilising owl populations in providing safe environments for the birds to roost and breed.
The Boxes
We provide and monitor boxes for Barn Owls, Kestrels, Tawny Owls and Little Owls. These species normally nest in holes in trees and readily take up occupancy in boxes; each box design caters for a particular species.
We ask landowners to contribute towards the cost of the boxes and subsequent monitoring.
Click HERE for more info about the boxes and their birds