Barn Owls
07 May 2010
The sudden sight of Barn Owl in flight, with its screeching call and pale colouring, it's easy to see why they used to be thought of as ghosts. In reality though, Barn Owls are beautiful and engaging creatures that are slowly beginning to return to our countryside.
Once a common bird, they have undergone a significant decline in numbers sine the 1950s due to the mechanisation and intensification of farming practices, reducing the amount of suitable habitat for nesting and foraging. Now, however, they're starting to fight back.
A Barn Owls' main prey is rodents, in particular voles. Rough grassland is the best habitat for rodents, and therefore is essential for the survival of Barn Owls. Field edges, grassland strips and watercourse buffers all provide ideal hunting grounds for the Owls, especially when in close proximity to roosting sites, such as old outbuildings, suitable holes in trees and even occasionally, old mines or cliffs. The RSPB estimate on their website (www.rspb.org.uk) that a breeding pair of Barn Owls require 20-25 km of foraging habitat with several suitable roosting sites, though this can vary across the country. High quality sites will support a higher number of Owls.
Barn Owls are found across the UK, with the notable exception of large areas of central and north eastern Scotland, and northwest Ireland. Central Scotland houses a relatively healthy population compared to the rest of Scotland, due to its farming landscape, however, improvements to farm buildings, outhouses, and barns during farm diversification means that roosting opportunities are still being lost.
North Lanarkshire Biodiversity partnership are currently making Barn Owl boxes for farms across the area, and providing information to land managers on how to best manage land for Barn Owls. CSFT are also running a postcard survey to find out where Barn Owls can be found. A postcard will shortly be available for you to send us your records, alternatively you can send them to us by e-mail.
Barn Owl (image: RSPB) Barn Owl habitat
