Joel Cox has turned a lifelong love for birds of prey into a hands-on conservation career with the Hawk and Owl Trust. We spoke to Joel about his journey into conservation, the importance of nest boxes, and what a typical day looks like in the field.
How did your journey with the Trust begin?
I’ve always been enamoured with birds. From a young age, I’ve been very outdoorsy, with a particular focus on birds, which came from my grandad. I became especially fascinated with birds of prey and eventually started working in falconry, flying raptors for public displays and experience days.
I became disillusioned with some of the outdated practices in the industry and wanted to shift toward conservation, working with wild birds instead of captive ones.
I started volunteering with Chris Sperring, Conservation Officer at the Hawk and Owl Trust, helping him to install nest boxes across Wales and Scotland. After a few years, a job opened up at the Trust, and thanks to that volunteer experience, I got my foot in the door.
What does your role involve?
My job title is Assistant Conservation Officer. My major focus is our Adopt-a-Box scheme - visiting landowners, farmers, and estate managers and installing bird of prey nest boxes on their land for them to be custodians of. These boxes are adopted by other people - similar to how you might symbolically “adopt” a panda – and I’m the one who will put them up and revisit them to monitor breeding success and carry out maintenance.
Landowners often come to us for advice on how they can encourage more birds of prey. So, my role is not just about climbing a tree and putting a box up – it's about engaging with people and advising on how to encourage different types of habitats for biodiversity.
I also spend time down at Shapwick Moor Nature Reserve in Somerset, helping to look after the site, and shadow Chris on various conservation projects.
What’s a typical day like for you?
It depends. On reserve days, I’m maintaining the buildings and hides, clearing vegetation and mowing paths to keep people on footpaths and protect the wider reserve. Recently, we’ve been clearing kilometres of willow trees along ditches in preparation for ditch reprofiling work. That’ll allow more water in, which benefits a lot of wildlife.
Wednesdays are typically volunteer days at Shapwick – coordinating with a group of guys who’ve been coming here for 20 years or more.
On Adopt-a-Box days, it’s planning visits, assessing sites, meeting landowners, and then getting stuck in. It’s long days, but it’s great fun. I get to see amazing places, help wildlife and birds of prey, and meet some incredible people who are plugged into the landscape and know a lot about their craft. It can be exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since I started, we’ve installed more than 30 boxes, with many more to come.
Why are nest boxes so important?
Natural nesting sites are disappearing. Barn Owls, for example, would typically nest in old rotten tree cavities, but there are so few big old trees now that most Barn Owl pairs – around 80% - now raise their chicks in provided nest boxes.
I’m especially focused on Little Owls, which are the fastest declining owl in the UK, mostly due to habitat loss and reduced insect populations from pesticide use (Little Owls are insectivores). Nest boxes give these birds a fighting chance.
Owls are predators at the top of the food chain, so a good population of owls is a strong indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?
Completing the South East project – installing boxes across Kent and beyond. Then comes the most exciting part: revisiting sites during the next breeding season to see if the boxes have been used. That’ll be really satisfying.
Any myths you’d like to bust around birds of prey?
Red Kites have been unfairly demonised. Some people think they’ll snatch pets or babies – but they’re scavengers, not hunters. Despite their size, Red Kites are lightweight and their feet are too small to carry large prey. They mainly eat roadkill and small prey like mice, voles and earthworms. They’re beautiful, misunderstood birds.
Is there a wildlife moment that has stuck with you?
As a child, I once saw a Barn Owl flying alongside our car. It was probably only five seconds before it peeled off into the field but felt like minutes. That sort of encounter makes you catch your breath and go, “Wow.” They’re out there – always out there – so rarely seen and so beautiful.
How can people start connecting with nature?
Look up and listen for the birds. It’s a whole other world, all around you all the time.
Sit quietly for 10 or 20 minutes and just tune in. You’ll be amazed at what reveals itself. Every sound, every movement – it’s all part of their language. They’re deeply connected to each other and their surroundings in ways we often overlook. I’m guilty of it too. But when you stop to take it in, you realise: it’s a very special thing.
If Joel’s story has inspired you, there are plenty of ways to get involved in conservation through the Hawk and Owl Trust. Visit one of our local Norfolk or Somerset reserves to experience the beauty of nature firsthand, support our work as a member, or take the next step by volunteering with us.
