About Barn Owl Live, Wildlife Live Streams from the Peak District
Barn owls, tawny owls, badgers and foxes, streaming live from a little corner of the Peak District National Park.
If you have ever wondered what a barn owl gets up to when nobody is looking, you are in the right place. Barn Owl Live streams owls, badgers and foxes from the Peak District National Park, 24 hours a day, and you can watch on your phone, your tablet, your computer or even the telly.
I'm Paul, and I run the whole thing from our old farm in the Peak District. It started with a few old whisky barrels and a field I badly wanted owls to move into. It has grown a bit since then.
How it all started
Our home is an old farm with a bit of land. We don't keep any livestock, but because the ground looks after itself, we get a good mix of wildlife. I had noticed both barn owls and tawny owls hunting in a couple of our fields, and I got a bit obsessed. I decided I wanted them to make the place their home.
I spent over 30 years in CCTV, designing cameras and recording equipment, so once the owls moved in, putting cameras in the boxes was the natural next step. Every box has three cameras giving different views, and one of them looks out at the perch. Everything is recorded, and I stream some of the cameras live to this website and to YouTube.
All the nest cameras have sensitive microphones too, so you don't just see the owls, you hear them. Listen out for the hissing and snoring of a hungry brood. It is far noisier in there than you would expect.
Building the whisky barrel nest boxes
If you want owls to stay and nest, you have to give them somewhere to do it. So I got hold of some old oak whisky barrels and turned them into three barn owl boxes. Two went up in trees and one went inside an old barn. Oak is warm, dry and solid, the barrels should last for years, and I like that I'm recycling them at the same time.
Plenty of people have asked how I made them, so I've written it all up, with photographs of each stage, from choosing a barrel to cutting the entrance and fitting the cameras.
What you can watch
These are the live wildlife cameras people come back to most.
Some years we also have tawny owls in our tawny box, which has a camera too, and when that happens I stream it from time to time. The badgers at BadgerWood often pop out to see if I have put any peanuts down for them, which I quite often have.
My barn owl book
Over the years of watching the owls, I kept notes on everything I saw: how they hunt, how they court, what happens when the eggs hatch, and the little things that only show up when you watch every day. Those notes slowly grew into a book, The Easy Guide to Barn Owls, which is now more than 70 pages long.
I keep adding to it as I learn more from the cameras, and you can enjoy it two ways: read it online, chapter by chapter, or download the full book to keep.
Over 70 pages of owl facts, information and photographs, free to read and yours to keep.
Where the facts come from
I don't like writing about things I haven't seen. Most of the articles on this site come from my own watching of the owls in my boxes, with help from experts who have studied owls for many years. I try hard to get things right, so that what you read here is useful whether you want to learn something or you're just curious.
If you are new to barn owls, start with A Short Guide to Barn Owls or over 100 barn owl facts. If you want to know how to tell a male from a female, what they eat or where they roost, I have written about those too, and there is a whole library of barn owl articles to dip into. When you fancy a break, have a go at the wildlife quiz.
Where Barn Owl Live is heading
My long term goal is simple: to build some of the very best live wildlife and nature cameras in the UK, all from this one little corner of the Peak District. More cameras, better pictures and sound, and more of the wildlife that lives here, from owls and badgers to the birds, deer and other visitors you might never otherwise see.
Every view, every subscriber and every chat on YouTube really does help make that happen. So if you enjoy the cameras, please watch, subscribe and say hello. It means a lot, and it keeps the cameras running.
Join in
- Watch and chat on YouTube. Subscribe to @BarnOwlLive and join the live chat while you watch.
- Follow the photos. My wildlife photographs are on Instagram at PeakyWildlife, and I share videos and news from the boxes at BarnOwl.Live.
- Chat on Facebook. Find Barn Owl Live on Facebook, where we'd love to see you.
- Join the mailing list. Subscribe here and I will let you know whenever I set up a new live camera, plus there is lots of free stuff only subscribers can download.
- Put our cameras on your own website. They're free, and there's nothing to look after. Get the free live camera widgets.
- Stream your own wildlife. I share everything I've learned in my guides to streaming wildlife cameras to YouTube.
Quick answers
Who runs Barn Owl Live?
I do. I'm Paul, a retired CCTV engineer, and I run the cameras, the website and the YouTube channel from our old farm in the Peak District.
Where are the cameras?
In my barn owl and tawny owl nest boxes, and in a wood, all in the Peak District National Park.
Can I hear the owls?
Yes. All the barn owl cameras have sensitive microphones.
What will I see at BadgerWood?
Mostly badgers and foxes as it gets dark, and sometimes deer.
How can I watch?
On YouTube or right here on this website, on your phone, tablet, computer or TV.
How did you make the owl boxes?
From old oak whisky barrels. I've written a full guide, with photographs, on building a whisky barrel owl box.
Is your barn owl book really free?
Yes. You can read it online, or download the full book to keep.
Can I put the live stream on my own website?
Yes. I've made free widgets for all the cameras. Copy the code, paste it into your page, and the live stream appears.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wander round, put the cameras on and say hi in the chat.
Paul David 🦉