BOPH Barn Owls

Arkive - ‘ The barn owl is one of the most wide-ranging birds in the world, found in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. ‘

In the UK the question to be considered is - Decline or fluctuation?

Barn Owl are of national interest. Some consider them one of the most beautiful birds found in this country, yet they have become scarce.

Not just Barn Owls. Kestrel and Little Owl form part of The State of Nature report released in 2013 revealing that a staggering 60% of UK species are in decline.

WHY ? Failure is most often linked to food availability. Unfortunately it is the lifestyle of the human that appears to have created the most problems.

 

Habitat has changed and Barn Owls are not so quick to adapt.

  • Where once there were old farm buildings and hollow trees, barn conversions intensive farming have changed the landscape.
  • Rough grassland has been replaced with manicured fields and gardens and the once endless farmland is now carved through with roadways and shared with large sprawls of urban development.

For years, the owls have become accepting of manmade nest boxes, taking shelter or breeding young. Yet no amount of nest boxes alone can keep the species among us. As without food, they simply cannot survive.

At BOPH we survey Barn Owl Habitat and advise on Barn Owl, Kestrel and Little Owl nest boxes. We offer Accredited Rehabilitation of wild orphaned or injured Owls and Birds of Prey.

‘Without birdsong what is there to hear, without trees what is there to breath, without wilderness what is there to see’ KVEBP