I have 12 secret cameras hidden in nest boxes in and around my garden and the grounds of my art gallery in North Yorkshire.
The images are then linked live to the exhibition space inside the gallery. So far the boxes are occupied by tawny owls, barn owls, kestrels, blue tits, wrens, blackbirds, robins, tree sparrows and even a pheasant hen.
This week two tawny owlets and a new brood of blackbirds hatched. Meanwhile the barn owls, robins and pheasant hen are all sitting on eggs.
It was incredible to see the moment the cameras first caught the adult tawny owl shuffling on top of a chipping egg and then later captured the first tiny owlet.The next day there were two!
The cameras have also recorded some really dramatic moments: including a brutal fight between a kestrel and a barn owl over one nest box.
The two birds of prey repeatedly lunged at each other in the battle, which was eventually won by the barn owl. The kestrel has meanwhile moved to another nest box behind the gallery.
I am sharing the best action on my website every day so that visitors can keep up to date with each bird's story.
This one shows the male blackbird bringing in a worm for his new brood which he unceremoniously dropped on Mrs Blackbird's head!
2 comments
The barn owl was the winner, but I found it hard to watch as the kestrel has been a visitor to my garden for almost a decade
Great video footage. That Kestrel vs Barn Owl is just incredible. As I watched it, I wondered what the outcome would be. It looked like both participants could easily have recieved mortal injuries from that battle.