Bryanston welcomes new born owls
BRYANSTON - EcoSolutions, a non-profit organisation involved in urban ecology, welcomed a small group of owlets into the world by ringing their legs at the home of a Bryanston resident.
The ringing is part of EcoSolutions’ Owl Box Project. The project began in 2002 with the primary aim to create safe and suitable breeding sites for the spotted eagle owl and the barn owl which are indigenous to the greater Johannesburg area, by installing owl boxes in the gardens of residents.
Director at EcoSolutions Jonathan Haw said, “We noticed that there was a great deal of owls coming in, and the reason for this is that they were struggling to find breeding grounds. So they were breeding in gutters and chimneys etc, so the aim is to give the owls a box where they can breed and raise their chicks.”
Ringer Craig Nattrass explained that ringing was the process of catching a bird and placing a ring around its leg with a specific serial number. “If at some point we recapture the bird, we will have a good idea of its movements through out its life,” he said.
Haw added, “We ring the chicks to monitor them and have some sort record of where they are 10 or 15 years down the line.”
