Owl Quiet on the Nesting Front

Owl Quiet on the Nesting Front

From The Knepp Wilding Podcast by Knepp.co.uk

September 23, 2025 · 29 min

About this episode

Penny Green interviews Matt Phelps about the challenges facing barn owls during a quiet breeding year.

In Owl Quiet on the Nesting Front, Penny Green interviews Matt Phelps, Knepp’s lead ecologist. They’re out on the Wildland checking 22 owl boxes. In this episode, they discuss barn owls’ silent grace and striking beauty… as well as how much people love to investigate their pellets to discover what the owls have had for breakfast! It’s a quiet year for owl breeding. Last autumn’s poor acorn yield spelled tough times for the small mammals who feed on them. That’s translated into a challenging y...

People in this episode

Host: Penny Green

Guest: Matt Phelps

Topics covered

  • owl ecology
  • barn owls
  • wildlife conservation
  • nature observation
  • breeding challenges

Keywords

  • barn owls
  • owl boxes
  • ecology
  • wildlife
  • nature
  • breeding
  • pellets
  • Knepp

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Knepp

Books & works: Owl Quiet on the Nesting Front

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