News

"Artificial nests a hit with owls"

"A Cyprus Scops owl has made herself comfortable in an artificial nest, one of about 1,000 owl nesting boxes that have been put up in various locations across the island as a natural way to combat rodents."

Artificial nests for Barn Owls (Tyto alba) help farmers befriend these natural rodent hunters.

"Barn owls are prolific hunters. They are known as “farmers’ friends” as they feed on over 20 small mammal species worldwide including rodents, acting as natural pest control. Konwar saw it as an advantage and decided to move the family of owls from under the roof to inside the mill. Eventually, the owls became accustomed to having humans around and became friendly with Konwar’s family and neighbours."

Award recognises’s work on the value of bats on apple farms

''Alexandra Howard, a PhD candidate at the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus, recently received a $3 000 USD scholarship grant from Bat Conservation International (BCI) in support of her project''

Babies in the neighbourHOOT

RKG: With the owl breeding season in full swing, we at EcoSolutions are getting ready to be flooded by calls of owlets needing to be ‘rescued’.

Baby Boom Brings Barn Owls Back From The Brink

I love barn owls. The little owl may be more adorable and the eagle owl more impressive but watching a pale barn owl floating silently across the fields is one of the UK's nature wonders. And they really do float silently. I've been filming with Molly, a rescue barn owl, and she decided to take a bit of a detour while showing off for our cameras.

Ban On Rat Poisons in State Parks Heads to Governor

A bill that would ban use of increasingly controversial rodent poisons in state parks and wildlife refuges is on its way to the Governor's desk after passing both houses of the California Legislature.

Barn owl population on the rise in Wisconsin.

A nest of rare barn owls was found in western Wisconsin after a two-decade hiatus. The new discovery of the barn owl family in a nest was the first in 22 years despite an uptick in unconfirmed sightings in the southern part of the state.

Barn Owl’s Silent Flight

Rosebank Killarney Gazette: GIVING A HOOT – This week we discuss the flight of our nighttime winged feathered friends.

Barn owls are back in Cyprus!

‘On this island, maybe the old methods are the best’. Alix Norman discovers a project that’s tackling a modern problem with an ancient approach

Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are released at Steyn City School

Rosebank Killarney Gazette: Steyn City School recently participated in the first release and released a pair of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) as part of the EcoSolutions and Owlproject.org's Owl Release Programme.

Steyn City Equestrian Centre welcomes two new residents!

We are in the Press >>> Fourways Review - August 2019

Bat aggregational response to pest caterpillar emergence

Scientific Reports, volume 11, Article number: 13634 (2021)

"Bat boxes installed near Oregon to protect species"

"Not everybody loves bats. In fact, many people are creeped out by the flying mammals that come out at night and snack on insects. Magnolia Rain Goodin is not one of those people. In fact, the 18-year-old from Elk Grove Village recently worked on a service project aimed at creating bat habitat in Better Place Forests on the Rock River near Oregon."

Bat deaths are causing farmers a huge financial loss.

"Bat population declines are costing American farmers as much as $495 million each year, finds research published this month in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists."

"Bat deaths caused by wind turbines disrupt natural food chains"

"A new study led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) has found that the numerous deaths of bats caused by wind turbines (WT) in Germany have a negative impact on the populations of affected species, as well as far-reaching consequences for the biodiversity of rural areas."

"Bat poop research gets to the bottom of pesticide residue"

"Alberta researchers look for information about how insecticides may be affecting bats by poking into what remains from their diets."

Bats Are Humans' Best Defense Against Mosquitoes

In Halloween movies, a bat swoops in as the sun goes down, then transforms into a vampire, hungry for your blood. The truth is, in Charleston, it's the mosquitoes that are the most bloodthirsty creature around, and that bat may just be your best defense.

Bats Are Migrating Earlier, and It Could Wreak Havoc on Farming

Every year migratory bats travel from Mexico to Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Tex., where they spend the summer consuming insects that would otherwise devour common food crops. But the bats have been showing up far earlier than they did two decades ago, possibly because of a warming climate, new research suggests.