With funding from the Tarka Country Trust's Community Wildlife Fund, Phil Metcalfe, who volunteers with the Biosphere Service, has been making barn owl boxes to give to landowners with suitable habitat and buildings. Modern agricultural sheds are generally unsuitable for barn owls because they do not have ledges where nests can be built.  But the addition of a nest box can change a new building into a desirable residence for barn owl.

The boxes follow the tried and tested design produced by the Barn Owl Trust.  Most of the boxes will be going in barns but where no suitable barns can be found the boxes will be put in trees. The entrance hole on all the boxes is high up so that fledglings owlets have to be able to fly a certain amount before gaining access to the outside platform. 

Phil will be making 20 barn owl boxes and although many already have an agreed location, there are still some available.  If you have a suitable barn and suitable feeding habitat nearby (rough grassland) and are interested in putting up a box please contact Phil.Metcalfe@devon.gov.uk

Torridge’s recycling rate of around 43-45% is already above average nationally, but a study has shown that without a change in the way the service is provided the Council will not be able to achieve the statutory environmental target of 50% by 2020. The increasing numbers of houses being built in the area and a need to modernise the fleet of vehicles and the depots operated by the Council will also bring cost pressures on the service which need to be addressed.

Some changes are proposed by the Council and include:

• Weekly recycling collection in boxes and bags with an enhancement to include additional mixed plastic materials.
• Weekly food waste collection on recycling vehicles.
• Fortnightly charged for garden waste collection offered to 100% of the district, with a charge of £35 per annum.
• Fortnightly non-recycled waste collection in black bags.
• A project to investigate depot options.

The new proposals include a significant extension to the range of materials that the Council intend to add to its kerbside recycling collections including nearly all types of plastics with only the exception of black plastic. The collection of food waste will also be made available to more households and not just those on the current garden waste collection rounds which only covers 60% of the district at the moment. Removing food waste from the material that goes to landfill will be handled through a new sealed 23 litre caddy system. This has been designed not to attract vermin and should at the same time reduce the incidence of bags being ripped open by wildlife and domestic animals which has been an issue particularly in rural and coastal hotspots.

Garden waste collection will now be offered to the whole of the district at a charge of £35 per annum which will contribute to the additional cost the service will face in implementing not only an extension of the garden waste service but all the other changes being proposed. Torridge is the only authority in Devon which still collects black bag waste on a weekly basis which research and evidence suggests has a restraining effect on the level of recycling. The planned changes to a fortnightly black bag collection, while at the same time extending the range of plastics collected, and enhancing food waste and garden waste collections, are expected to have a positive effect on recycling rates, reducing the amount of waste that ends up in environmentally damaging landfill.

There have been a number of Avian Influenza outbreaks in the UK and a prevention zone was declared in December that covers the whole of the UK. The prevention zone means that all poultry keepers – whether on a commercial scale or simply a small backyard flock – are now required by law to house them (keep them under over) or otherwise keep them separate from wild birds. This requirement (the prevention zone) has now been extended until 28 February 2017. It is also important  that poultry keepers must continue to keep a close watch on the health of their birds, and take steps to reduce the  risk of infection via the environment, for example in wild bird droppings, by practising good biosecurity. You should do this even if your birds are inside. This has been necessary because the same Avian Flu strain has also been found in wild birds in England, Scotland and Wales.  The Food  Standards Agency advise that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

How to spot avian influenza

There are 2 types of avian influenza. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is the more serious type. It is often fatal in birds. The main clinical signs of HPAI in birds are:

• swollen head
• blue discoloration of neck and throat
• loss of appetite
• respiratory distress such as gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, gurgling, rattling
• diarrhoea
• fewer eggs laid
• increased mortality

Clinical signs can vary between species of bird and some species may show minimal clinical signs (ducks and geese). Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) is usually less serious. It can cause mild breathing problems, but affected birds will not always show clear signs of infection. The severity of LPAI depends on the type of bird and whether it has any other illnesses.

For more information please download DEFRA’s How to keep your birds safe from Avian Influenza (bird flu) leaflet which includes bio-security guidance here www.bit.ly/safe-birds

(From Devon Communities Resilience Forum Newsletter - January 2017)