Multy Barn Owl project captures the imagination of a community

A biodiversity project aimed at attracting and encouraging barn owls to live and thrive in Multyfarnham has got the backing of an entire community, from farmers and householders, to Tidy Towns and the Active Age group, as well as students at St Cremin’s NS.

The Multyfarnham Barn Owl initiative was started just over a year ago by Tidy Towns volunteers, and out of three nest boxes erected on different sites in the area, there is evidence that at least one barn owl is roosting.

Local company Strikebox came on board to sponsor materials for barn owl houses, which the Multyfarnham Men’s Shed crafted and erected on three farms in the area, in agreement with the landowners.

On Tuesday week last, John Carrig of the Barn Owl Project, which was set up in 2019 to help with conservation of Barn Owls in Ireland, was invited to give a talk at the community hall. He was accompanied by Erin the Barn Owl, who captivated the large audience in attendance, including members of the Ballinafid Multyfarnham Bunbrosna Active group.

Erin also visited St Cremin’s National School, where the students were amazed by her presence.

John said that the big issue facing barn owls today is secondary poisoning, as well as the lack of nest sites, and since the information day, four more landowners have come on board asking to sign up to the project.

John O’Reilly of Multyfarnham Tidy Towns says the project has got the backing of the community.

“Multy Tidy Towns are trying to promote biodiversity in the area, and two projects we are working on here are the swift and barn owl ones – two endangered species,” he said. “It involves Multyfarnham Men’s Shed, local farmers, who have come on board and offered a hand with putting up the boxes. It also involves a bit of buy-in on the farmers’ behalf because you’re not just putting up owl boxes – you’re putting them up on your farm and the problem with that is one of the reasons that barn owls are endangered is the use of rat poison.

“So you’re asking the farmer to cut out poison because of the chance of secondary poisoning – if the owl picks up a rodent which has poison in him, that’s where the secondary poisoning occurs.

“The farmers we have on board have all agreed to alternative ways of controlling vermin on their land. John Carrig from the Barn Owl Project came and had a chat with the community, the farmers, the BMB Active group, and anyone else who wanted to came along. We went up to the school because obviously we want to involve the younger people in the community. We talked to whole school and brought Erin along and the kids were amazed. And since then, four more landowners have asked if we needed further sites, so it’s been successful so far.”

Marion Mooney of Ballinafid Multyfarnham Bunbrosna Active says the community event was informative for farmers and householders alike.

“We learned a lot about how we can make life easier for barn owls. It was open to all the community and there was a lot of interest. We’ve lost a number of barn owls in Ireland, so we’re trying to improve on that. I think everybody was interested in it, and with the presence of Erin the owl there, it made a real difference. They are such a beautiful creature really,” Marion told the Westmeath Examiner.

“Multyfarnham is actively trying to encourage them in and make space for them. It’s a worthwhile project and John Carrig told us that we shouldn’t put down poison for mice because the owl eats the ice, and then that kills the owl, so it has a knock-on effect on conservation and it’s something maybe you wouldn’t have thought about before.

“I think that hit home, with me certainly, I don’t put down poison myself, but you really do think about it when someone says it to you like that.

“So it’s not only the farmers that can help, it’s every single household because if the mice eat poison, it takes them nearly 10 days to die. They wander around and then they can be got by owls. And I suppose, the more owls we have in the area, they will take care of the vermin in the long run.”

To find out more on the Multyfarnham Barn Owl Project, check out Multyfarnham Tidy Towns page on Facebook. The Tidy Towns group is also involved in a Swift Project, and have erected Swift Boxes on the Community Hall.