Kristen Whyle<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for me to believe that my time as an MRes Wildlife Conservation student is now over and a new group of students have begun their own journeys; it was an incredible experience so I have to admit I\u2019m slightly jealous! Everyone\u2019s schedule differed during the 8 month research phase of the course, so here I\u2019ll give a taste of what it was like for me.<\/p>\n My research project was field based in the UK and revolved around the conservation of a much-loved bird species: the Barn owl (Tyto alba<\/em>). I examined how foraging habitat at both a micro-scale and at a landscape scale might affect the success of Barn owls in nest boxes in terms of occupation and breeding. \u00a0The research was carried out in the South Downs National Park, where a number of man-made nest boxes have been set up, a conservation action taken to combat population declines and the loss of traditional nesting locations like old barns and hollow trees.<\/p>\n\n\t\t
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