Twin beaks: Two owl chicks hatch in new nest box made from repurposed crates

Nest boxes made from repurposed component crates from an overhead line project in the north of Scotland have provided a new home for a pair of tawny owls – with two healthy chicks successfully hatched in their new abode.

The pair of chicks were hatched this summer and were identified by a team of volunteers from the Highland Raptor Study Group (HRSG) after the new nest box was installed in the winter at an area in the Cairngorms.

The nesting boxes were made using crates used to deliver insulator components for the cables used in SSEN Transmission’s Creag Riabhach overhead line project, located a few miles north of Lairg in Sutherland.  The project involves creating a 132kV 22km overhead line and installing 275 wooden-poles to facilitate a new onshore wind farm connection to the electricity transmission network, allowing clean renewable electricity to be transported from source to where it is needed most; supporting the transition to Net Zero emissions in Scotland and the UK. 

With such a large task ahead of them, teams were keen to find a solution to minimise waste and maximise the reuse of materials from the project as much as possible. 

SSEN Transmission’s overhead line contractor NorPower and their environmental team from Cnoclee Environmental Services and A9 Consulting, in conjunction with Principal Contractor OMSI, developed a novel solution to the problem of what to do with packing crates used for the delivery of the insulators.  Instead of sending these into the waste wood skip for recycling and recovery elsewhere, 70 of the crates were repurposed into 54 nest boxes for tawny owls, barn owls and kestrels by local joiner and long-time HRSG member Ron Graham.   

The boxes were then installed throughout the winter at key locations across habitats throughout the Highlands, including Lairg, Black Isle, Nethy Bridge, Balnain, Drumnadrochit and Tain, and also as far south as Appin and as far West as Inverinate in Kyle. 

Following ongoing checks undertaken by the HRSG under license by NatureScot, it was noted that a pair of tawny owls had taken up residence in one of the boxes near Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms very quickly after installation.  It proved so well suited that two chicks have successfully hatched, much to the delight of the team.  The chicks have been carefully ringed by HRSG volunteers so they can be recorded and identified in the future. 

SSEN Transmission has made sector-leading biodiversity commitments on all projects, introducing a policy of no-net-loss in biodiversity on all projects gaining consent from 2020, and biodiversity net gain on all new projects from 2025.  This means that during the development, construction and operation of critical infrastructure, project teams will leave the environment no worse than when they found it, and where possible make it even better, leaving a positive environmental legacy at all SSEN Transmission sites. 

Duncan MacDonald, SSEN Transmission Project Manager said: “We’re delighted to find that two tawny owls have successfully hatched from one of the purpose-built boxes built from the Creag Riabhach crates.

“As a responsible developer, we’re always looking to find ways for our projects to leave a positive environmental legacy locally and repurposing the insulator crates to create new nesting boxes is such a fantastic use for the materials. We hope that these two are just the start of what will hopefully be many more owl and kestrel chicks in future breeding seasons.

“The team from NorPower along with their environmental consultants from A9 Consulting and Cnoclee have taken the utmost care to ensure we did everything possible to avoid impacting the environment during our project’s delivery, including using helicopters to deliver materials to avoid disturbing the sensitive peatlands that our line crosses over, and taking care to avoid disturbing nesting birds and other precious wildlife such as badgers, water vole, pine marten, otter and bats which were identified in the area.

“We’re working to protect the environment and promote biodiversity as we progress with our development at Creag Riabhach and we’ll continue to uphold this at every stage of our project as work continues.”

Yvonne Brown, the NorPower Ecological Clerk of Works on the Creag Riabhach Project and member and Secretary of the voluntary organisation Highland Raptor Study Group (HRSG), said:

 “The project team were discussing  ideas to reduce waste associated with the disposal of the insulator crates formed of plywood, and as an ornithologist I recognised that the size of the crates had potential to be repurposed into robust nesting boxes suitable for kestrels, tawny owls and barn owls.  Following discussions with the team they were supportive of the concept, and I’m so pleased to see the crates have been re-used to help these three iconic species in Scotland whilst reducing waste and the costs associated with its disposal.

 “Many woodland raptor and owl species are not able to expand into suitable habitat due to lack of suitable nest sites, and so we hope and expect that the boxes will create successful nesting sites for these birds and expand their territories for years to come throughout the Highlands.  

 “This is clear example of how the project team at SSEN Transmission and NorPower are committed to protecting the environment and indeed enhancing it where possible, not just on site but as part of the wider project’s legacy, and the support given to this initiative is a real testament to that commitment.”

 The Creag Riabhach wind farm grid connection involves the construction of approximately 22km of 132 kV overhead line supported by double Trident ‘H’ wood pole structures between a substation at Creag Riabhach Wind Farm and Dalchork substation, which is currently under construction.  Once complete, it will help facilitate the transmission of clean, green energy to the GB electricity grid, helping to support the transition to net zero emissions and the fight against climate change.   The project is nearing completion, with teams expecting to complete the overhead line connection by late summer. 

Learn more about the project here: https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/creag-riabhach-wind-farm-connection/.