We are sad to share the news that Hawk Conservancy Trust Vice-President Nigel Lewis passed away on 14 November. Nigel became the Trust’s Vice-President on 24 July 2009, after working closely with Life President and Founder Ashley Smith. We remember him fondly for his dedication to conservation, especially his work at the forefront of Barn Owl conservation, and his mentorship to other conservationists, bird ringers, and local communities.
Nigel spent many years of his life working to conserve Barn Owls in Suffolk, before moving to Wiltshire in 1983. After moving, he carried on working with this species in the south of England for more than 30 years. Throughout this time, Nigel oversaw the recovery of Barn Owl populations across Salisbury Plain. Working largely of his own accord, in the early years of his work it was often just him and his wife, Betty, who would climb up trees to install heavy Barn Own boxes into place. In those early days, many of the nest boxes were made from re-purposed ammunition boxes! One one point, Nigel and Betty were featured on the Really Wild Show with Chris Packham, now the Trust President.
Alongside his work with nest boxes, Nigel was also a mentor to many young (and not so young!) bird ringers and conservationists. He worked hard to engage his local communities with the work being done to improve habitats for Barn Owls, and encouraged those around him to get involved in protecting these beautiful birds.
In 2006, he reached out to the Hawk Conservancy, asking for volunteers to help support his work by making Barn Owl boxes for him. Life President and Founder Ashley Smith wanted to recognise his incredible contribution to conservation, so asked him to become Vice President in 2009. Ashley described Nigel as:
“A wonderful man and passionate conservationist – he was at the forefront of Barn Owl conservation. Through his lifelong endeavours, he helped inspire many other individuals and organisations such as the the Hawk Conservancy Trust to implement similar projects. We will always be thankful for his advice and support.”
The Trust’s Raptor Nest Box Project, which started in 2008 with 38 nest boxes, was inspired by Nigel and his work. Throughout the timeline of this project, Nigel worked closely with our UK Conservation Biologist Dr Matt Stevens. Speaking about Nigel, Matt said:
“Nigel was very witty, knew when to be stern, but was always very fair. We shared a lot of stories and information, and a lot of laughs, during our weekly Thursday meet-ups each year from April to August, where we would work together to monitor owls and Kestrels around Salisbury Plain. He’ll be missed as a teacher as well as a friend to a lot of people in the conservation community.”
