Owls can continue to enjoy the safe haven on Gleneagles Road
GREENSIDE – Newly installed signs on Gleneagles Road hope to encourage residents and motorists to be aware of owl activity.
Owls will continue to have a safe haven on Gleneagles Road in Greenside following the installation of signs warning motorists and residents to be aware of owl activity.
The new signs were installed at a location near an owl box where an owl is currently nesting with her chicks. Jonathan Haw, the director of EcoSolutions, has run The Owl Box Project for more than 20 years. EcoSolutions has placed about 80 owl boxes around Johannesburg which provide a safe haven for owls.
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Owls often find it difficult to find a safe breeding ground and the owl boxes aim to address that need. The boxes are made from recycled wood and are installed high up in a tree. The boxes resemble a cavity in a dead tree which is where owls will typically lay their eggs.
Haw said, “Owls are awesome, they catch rats and most people don’t want to use poison so, they’re a great alternative.”
The owl box on Gleneagles Road was installed last year following the death of two chicks. Since then, the same owl has returned to lay eggs again. The signs will hopefully make residents aware that owls are currently nesting nearby.
“Sometimes people will make a call to an organisation who will come round and take the owls away but you don’t need to. The best thing to do is leave them alone.
“Sometimes the birds will spend a day or two on the ground when they fledge, but after those few days they’ll get up and fly. That’s usually when people notice them or pick them up, so we say just leave them be. Once a bird has laid its eggs in an owl box it will return year after year to lay its eggs.”
Tell us what you think about the Owl Box Project on WhatsApp 079 439 5345.
