Solve your present problem with a green gift, specially created for people who love owls. A Hawk and Owl Trust ‘Adopt a Box’ is an ideal Christmas present for anyone who cares about wildlife and the environment.
That’s because nestboxes really are important for many owls. For example, at the last official count there were only about 4,000 breeding pairs of barn owls in the whole of Britain, and it’s estimated that four in every five of them now nest in boxes – because of the loss of so many traditional sites like hollow trees and old farm buildings.
To compensate for this loss, a key part of the Hawk and Owl Trust’s conservation work has been putting up nestboxes – in areas with plenty of prey – for barn owls, tawny owls, little owls and the once-common, but now declining, kestrel.
"Nestbox adoption makes a superb present for anyone – of any age – who loves owls," says television wildlife presenter Chris Packham, President of The Hawk and Owl Trust, a national charity that works to conserve wild birds of prey and their habitats.
"What’s more, anyone adopting a box, for themselves or as a gift for a friend or relation, is supporting our vital conservation, research and education work for owls and other birds of prey in the wild."
Adopt a Box as a present for a friend or relation and the Trust will send a Christmas card and gift adoption pack, complete with an attractive, personalised adoption certificate.
Goodies in the adoption pack include a colourful guide to British owls and the secrets of the pellets they cough up. These fascinating pellets contain the indigestible remains of an owl’s prey – bones, fur and feather – so are great clues to their diet.
The pack also contains ‘Adopt a Box News’ (there are two a year), a colourful owl sticker, two illustrated fact sheets about conserving and helping owls to survive in the wild, and a barn owl bookmark, the first in a series to collect. A report about what’s been happening in the adopted nestbox will be sent towards the end of the year.
Putting up large wooden nestboxes, which for barn owls are about the size of an old-fashioned tea chest, is carried out by trained fieldworkers. Specially licensed conservationists then check the nestboxes during the breeding season which is why the Trust is able to give adopters a national overview and also let them know what has happened in their adopted box. Although the nestboxes are designed specifically for barn owls, tawny owls and little owls or kestrels, other fascinating species may also take up residence – and hearing about what’s been happening in your box is part of the fun of the present.
An Adopt a Box subscription costs £18 a year. Sign up online — www.hawkandowl.org — or call 0844 984 2824. Adoption forms, including details of gift adoption, are also available from: Adopt a Box, Hawk and Owl Trust, PO Box 400, Bishop’s Lydeard,
Taunton TA4 3WH (please enclose a stamped addressed envelope),
email: enquiries@hawkandowl.org.
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Press enquiries only: Barbara Hall, tel: 020 8858 4154
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Images available on request.
2. The Hawk and Owl Trust
Founded in 1969 to help save the peregrine, the Hawk and Owl Trust is a national charity which now works for the conservation and appreciation of all wild birds of prey and their habitats – both in its own nature reserves and in partnership with others. Working with other organisations, farmers, foresters and landowners, the Trust researches, restores and manages nesting, roosting and feeding habitats and encourages greater understanding and appreciation of these very special birds. www.hawkandowl.org
3. Adopting a nestbox
Adopt a Box subscribers can choose to adopt nestboxes in one of seven regions of Britain. Because it is essential the birds are not disturbed when rearing their young, the Hawk and Owl Trust cannot tell adopters exactly where their adopted nestboxes are. All birds of prey are protected by law and barn owls have additional protection.
