Thanks to an online broadcast, anyone can watch the life of Red Book barn owls nesting in the Transcarpathian villages of Velyka Bakta and Orosiyevo.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds.
Two cameras are broadcasting around the clock – one inside each nest box, the other outside. It can be viewed here. This year, the broadcast is being conducted from one of the most successful boxes, where the male with the ringed paw has been returning for several years in a row. Now the birds already have their first clutch of eggs, which they are diligently hatching.
Screenshot from the video broadcast from birdlife.org.ua
The cameras were installed in 2023 after the first successful colonization of artificial nesting boxes by owls. The project aims to support and increase the population of this Red Book bird species in Ukraine by creating an additional nesting base in the regions where they live.
At the first stage of the project, conservationists made 50 artificial nesting boxes, which were placed in selected buildings agreed with the owners. As a result, we managed to increase the number of nesting owls by 17 pairs, which settled and successfully raised offspring in the artificial nest boxes.
In 2024, in addition to Zakarpattia, such boxes appeared in Odesa, Lviv, and Volyn regions. In late April – May 2025, experts will conduct the first all-Ukrainian monitoring: they will check the occupancy of the boxes, the number of chicks, and the risks to birds.
“Thanks to online broadcasts, everyone can watch how owls lay eggs, how chicks appear and grow, how successful the nesting is, and what kind of diet the owls have,” the society says.
A month ago, EcoPolitic reported that a star stork pair, Hrytsko and Odarka, had returned to Pyriatyn National Park from the wild.
