A bid for some bird boxes...

I love owls. I always have. I think Harry Potter made the world go ga-ga for these awesome birds, but from a young age, I've been inspired by their beauty. On one of our group wildflower sowing trips, I was lucky enough to spot a lone barn owl silently surfing across the fields at dusk. It sparked the idea to get up as many nest boxes as we can to encourage birds of prey into the area; hence this campaign was born.

If you help us, you won't only be buying a nesting box; you'll actually be giving life to new owlets. Now, that's cool!  Even £2, the price of an ice cream on a hot day or a single morning coffee, will help immensely.

It all started last year when I crowdfunded the Wildflower Meadow Campaign. You see, I have these 40-ish acres of prime Suffolk farmland that have been left fairly vacant since my granddad died in the late 90s. So what did I decide to do? Use it as conservation space!

Help us get more boxes

March and April are prime-time for putting up owl boxes. Jackdaws have already made their nests, leaving the remaining boxes free for birds of prey. I've bought one which will go up in the next few weeks, but at £120 a pop, I can't afford any more for now. 

So...what do I need your help with? Buying more boxes.

Having talked with various owl sanctuaries, I've been advised I can put up two boxes per 5 - 7 acres. That's around 11 owl boxes in total - not to mention more boxes for kestrels and other wildlife. £500 will buy four boxes (I'm using these ECO Barn Owl Nest Boxes), and as long as I make the target, I can keep funding the campaign indefinitely, using further money to add all manner of homes for birds, bats and critters.

If I don't make the target...well, I'll just buy as many boxes as possible.

(One species we know are already present; barn owls. Image © Chris Parker) 

Perks

We've got various perks available, including thank you postcards and shout-outs on social media, but perhaps the most exciting will be updates on the boxes AND (fingers crossed) their inhabitants. You're not donating to have something made, you're making new life possible! Quite simply, one thing holding owl populations back is a lack of somewhere to breed. By funding new homes, you can offer life to little, cute, fluffy owlets (well, maybe not soo cute when they cannibalise each other - lets hope that doesn't happen).

I'll post pictures, videos and blogs on the boxes around Brimwood Farm and show you just how your pledge has helped the owls find somewhere to raise a family. The first visitors I expect are barn owls, but I hope to eventually encourage Britain's five owl species: 

• Barn Owl
• Tawny Owl
• Little Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Long-eared Owl

And, of course, the future is likely to include kestrels and other birds of prey too (when we were scything the wildflower meadow last year, a buzzard circled quietly above us).

(A short-eared owl; another species I hope to encourage. Image © gbrazzill)

*It's important to note that I won't be interfering with the boxes once they're up. I'll work with a local and licensed trust who can legally inspect and ring any young birds. Most likely I'll be laying on my belly with a pair of binoculars for hours on end!

Please Help in Any Way You Can

I'm extremely lucky in that I have this land in my family. However, I'm self-employed and earn a meagre existence...I could fund everything myself but it would take YEARS. And for all of those years, I feel that an opportunity to do something fantastic has slipped by. By funding this together, I can put in the time and effort, put your donations to good use and ensure that a little patch of Suffolk farmland becomes a safe haven for creatures large and small...well, perhaps not the owl's prey...it might not be as safe for them after all...but you get the idea...

I more than understand if you can't offer financial support but there are LOADS of other ways you can help:

• Social Media - Tweet the campaign, Facebook the campaign, just simply spread the word.
• Word-of-mouth - This is still big business. If you can't donate, maybe someone you know can. Maybe your great aunt Gertrude is mad keen on owls and would love to help buy a nesting box!
• Keep Checking In - Just because you can't hit that pledge button is no excuse not to keep coming back. I'll have lots of updates over the coming weeks, months and even years so you can still see how this project (and the plethora of other ideas we have for the farm) develop. 
• Get in touch - Reach out and say hi! If you've got no cash, you might have a marketing idea. Maybe you actually live near and are interested in being in one of the work parties. Perhaps you're just a nutty old owl geek and want to make some new friends. I'm here - message me!! (Actually, my husband is EVEN MORE owl nutty than me!)

So, come-on, help me out in some way, any way - think of those fluffy, bone-scoffing, pellet vomiting bundles of owlet.