Owls are mysterious birds with eyes that face forward (rather than the sides of their head, like most birds) and can turn their heads 270 degrees to hunt prey. Owls have three eyelids (one to blink, one to sleep and one to wash the eye).
Many owls have one wing higher than the other, that lets them fly silently (the feathers breaking turbulence into smaller sound currents). So unsuspecting voles, shrews, rabbits and rats (an average of 4 eaten each night) have no idea they are about to descend.
Owls catch prey with their sharp talons (all owls have two pairs of toes on their feet, which face different directions for excellent hunting). Some even have feathered feet, to protect from cold weather. After eating, owls regurgitate the bones!
Most owls are nocturnal. So unless you’re a night owl yourself (in the garden with binocular eyes – bought in this case), it’s likely you have much to learn about this most mysterious of birds!
The Five Main English Owl Species
- Tawny owls are common brown and grey birds. They live in woodland, and are the owls most known for the familiar sound of ‘twit-twoo!’
- Barn owls are paler, with heart-shaped faces. They instead have a screech that ornithologist artist Matt Sewell says can strip your fingernails. They also hiss and snore! These owls prefer open farmland, which is why they are at risk, due to modern farming methods.
- Little owls are mottled brown birds that like farms and woodland, and sometimes hide in drains. Their call is akin to a small barking dog!
- Long-eared owls have ‘tufts’ on top of their ears, which they raise when alarmed. They also like woods and farmland. Their call is ‘hoo hoo hoo!’
- Short-eared owls are similar (mottled brown). They go ‘boo boo boo!’
Why Owls Need Our Help
All our native owls love two things (as well as food and flying). Woodland and farmland. Yet both have been lost in droves in recent years, due to chopping down forests, and intensive farming methods to grow food.
This therefore reduces their habitats for food, shelter and safety for raising impossibly-cute fluffy owlets.
Owls don’t build nests like most birds. Instead they tend to lay eggs in tree hollows (often pre-drilled by woodpeckers, that have a special make-up which is like us wearing a crash helmet-, so they can hammer into wood, without getting a massive headache!)
Other risks for owls are litter (plastic, garden netting), rat poison (owls eat rats), road traffic (and electricity pylons) and open water (especially cattle troughs) which cause drowning.
Install Owl Boxes (with help from others)
Installing owl boxes can help, to replace what’s been lost. But like all bird boxes, you have to know what you’re doing.
Owl boxes need particular studying, as owls don’t build nests like other birds, and owls also sit on pellets (not straw), so nest boxes could become waterlogged.
- Barn Owl Trust has good advice, on how to choose, build, buy and site owl boxes, whether you do this indoors (like a barn) or on a tree.
- The organisation also says that the nest box is only as good as the land surrounding it, for natural food. Because ‘owls can’t eat boxes’.
- These barn owl nestboxes are designed alongside Barn Owl Trust, to stop owlets falling out, and also protect from bad weather.
- Safe cleaning is important to stop pellets building up, or owlets could climb out of the box too early.
- The Wildlife Community also sells good owl boxes. Tawny owl nests look like tubes, to mimic how owls nest in tree hollows or barns.
You can’t disturb owls or owlets, unless a licensed wildlife worker.
Use Floats for Water Troughs
- Again, Barn Owl Trust has good information on how to keep owls safe from open water troughs (used on farms) and other containers with over 120mm of water (a potential death-trap for all wildlife).
- It shows how to make a proper float that lasts years (wood won’t work, as it sinks when waterlogged).
- This wildlife trough includes a valve to prevent freezing (and lets small creatures escape).
- Two ideas are stock troughs (don’t get waterlogged) and FrogLog (a weighted inflating platform from a wildlife biologist, for small creatures to escape from pools).
Deter Rats Naturally
- Owls eat rats, so avoid rat poison. Deter rodents by not leaving out food (nor composting animal foods).
- Be tolerant of natural predators like owls (and foxes).
- These are better solutions than terriers (dogs may ingest rat poison or get intestinal worms/toxoplasmosis).
- Live rat traps cause painful deaths if not checked (and leave babies behind).
- RatMesh (is a stainless steel version of an invention to deter mice from entering buildings. Do not cover air vents or gas appliances (this can block with dust, leaves or dirt, and increase risk of carbon dioxide poisoning).
- Gardener Ellen Christine says rats have a sense of smell. So try planting mint, lavender or rosemary (avoid toxic plants near pets). She says organic mulches (like wood chip or straw) may encourage rodents, as hiding places).
If I am to love owls, then I must learn to live with rats. Alys Fowler
Owl-Friendly Farmers & Town Planners
- Farmers and town planners can do lots to help owls, simply by learning how they live, and how to plant and build. Read how to manage land barn owls (Barn Owl Trust).
- Barn owls are protected by law from disturbance during nesting (from when the egg is laid until the last dependent stops returning to the nest). Penalties include fines up to £5000 or 6 months imprisonment (per bird, nest or egg).
- It’s a worthwhile £300 for planners to take their training course (includes the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook. Chris Packham says every council should have a copy, so one staff member can become a ‘barn owl agent’.
- Report dead owls, using six-figure grid references.
Keep Owls Safe By Roads
- Again, this needs good town planning with ‘tree screens’ at certain measurements, which helps to force owls (and bats) to fly higher near traffic.
- The Barn Owl Trust also has info for farmers to help reduce electrocution, by burying cables and insulating droppers that connect to transformers.
- A good idea is Bird diverters (invented to help swans avoid pylons). Make wind turbines safer by placing further apart, painting one blade (and the towers) black and using bladeless turbines (owls are not as affected by wind turbines, as they fly lower).
- Ground-level solar panels don’t appear to be as harmful as tall solar towers (which can incinerate birds).
Barn Owl Trust is not a fan of HS2 high-speed train project, which it says is ‘a very expensive way of killing owls’.
Install Bird-Proof Chimney Cowls
Like crows, signs of owls are are twigs, grass, leaves and hair falling into fire grates (use gloves to remove bird droppings).
- If birds are already nesting, you must legally leave them until they’ve flown the nest, so don’t light fires.
- For stuck birds, RSPB says to shine a bright torch up the chimney at night, then birds will fly towards ‘daylight’ (catch in a sheet, to safely release outside).
- To prevent birds nesting in chimneys, be sure they have flown the nest (likely winter, though pigeons can nest year-round).
- Then have a sweep clean your chimney, and fit a chimney cowl or pot (install correctly, so oxygen can circulate).
- For gas fires, you’ll need a qualified fitter to move your fireplace away from the chimney opening, to conduct any work.
How to Help Orphaned or Injured Owls
Barn Owl Trust has lots of info on what to do if you find an injured or abandoned owl.
As with all baby wildlife, monitor closely before stepping in, as often the parents are watching nearby. The site shows how to pick up a live owl and how to check for injuries.
- Barn owls on the ground need help, so call your local wildlife rescue, Raptor Rescue or Suffolk Owl Sanctuary’s emergency helpline.
- The Owls Trust also good advice if you find baby owls (not always orphaned, just testing their wings). Tawny owls should be observed, as often parents are nearby (or place safely in a high tree branch). Place ‘little owls’ back in nests, or near where you found them, if safe.
- Wear gloves (or use a thick towel) to place in ventilated boxes (avoid towels with tassels, they can catch).
- Grasp gently (feet are more likely to get you than beaks!) Keep in a quiet area at room temperature, until help arrives.
Don’t Keep Owls as Pets
Barn Owl Trust does not agree with keeping owls as pets. They are wild birds (and unlike dogs, have no loyalty).
They may see you as a potential mate, can be aggressive and will happily leave you to the next person providing food, no matter how much you love her or him!
This is why falconry owls can get tangled in ‘leather strips’, when they try to fly off.
Protect Pets from Birds of Prey
This happens more in North America due to larger species, but it’s important to keep small dogs and rabbits etc safe, especially as wild birds lose natural hunting habitats.
Keep dogs indoors at night (supervise while outside at night, as birds are less likely to attack if humans are nearby). Supervise small animals like rabbits/guinea pigs when outside, and keep them inside at night (hutches for rabbits and guinea pigs should be large but secure).
If you see a bird of prey circling or attacking a domestic pet, advice is to approach the pet while yelling and making loud noises (if attacked, immediately visit the vet, as wounds could become infected).
Learn more on how to make your garden safe for pets. It’s better to encourage birds of prey to stay in the wild, to keep pets safe (birds of prey need open farmland over domestic gardens).
Wise Words About Owls
A wise old owl sat in an oak. The more he saw, the less he spoke. The less he spoke, the more he heard. Why can’t we be like that wise old bird?
Edward Hersey RichardsAnd if anyone knows anything about anything – it’s Owl who knows something about something. Owl is the grand and rather clever old man of the forest. He can also spell Tuesday. A A Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Opportunities are like night owls. They like to streak naked and howl at the moon. A lot of success in life comes down to luck. So, put yourself in a position to get lucky. Because you know what happens if you don’t go out? Nothing. Ari Gold
The barn owl is an ambassador for life on the edge. It is the night owl that also hunts fearlessly by day; the silent flier with a sudden shriek that can shatter glass; the restless sentry of the outside edge of the woods. Jim Crumley
Wise Books to Learn More on Owls
The Owl: A Biography is a wonderful book by a natural history expert, who teaches nature writing at Bath University. Meet all native species of owls, along with a couple of ‘northern owls’ (the snowy and eagle owls).
Learn how an owlet hatches, then grows to hunt prey and raise the next generation. With beautiful illustrations, this stunning volume is a worthy tribute to the most mysterious of birds.
Owls: Our Most Enchanting Bird is a beautifully illustrated book for adults or children, by ornithologist and artist Matt Sewell.
Always making learning fun (all his books are wonderful), this book captures one of the world’s most evocative birds with pop-art watercolours and whimsical descriptions.
See Matt draw and express the individual characters of owls, like never before. The 50 hand-painted owls include owls from over the border like tiny elf owls. A wonderful gift for anyone who adores our feathered friends!
To be honest, owls aren’t the brightest of birds, amazing as they are. Parrots and crows are much smarter.
It’s all in the eyes; those magnificent piercing optics are what make all owls look like they are deep in concentrated scrutiny, and steeped in long-lost knowledge.
The Book of the Barn Owl is a beautiful read, by a Yorkshire-based writer who has penned books on many of our much-loved species (sheep, frogs, earthworms and hedgehogs). When you’re asleep, what goes when barn owls wake up, and live under the light of the moon?
Packed with tips on how to help barn owls, discover the interesting life of this enigmatic bird. From first pip of the shell, to leaving the nest. The book includes lino prints by artist Vanessa Lubach, and is endorsed by Barn Owl Trust.
What an Owl Knows offers an intimate glimpse, into the birds that have captured our imaginations for thousands of years, from prehistoric cave paintings to etchings of Picasso.
In this book, the author looks at evolutionary quirks behind their silent flight and rotating heads, to their romantic relationships and parenting styles.
The Company of Owls is a ‘nocturnal love song’ to tawny owls, who live in the garden of the author’s Cumbrian home (in the same town where poet Wordsworth hails from).
Each night, the owls come down to her cottage at dusk, calling out as night falls. In particular, a trio of owlets she watches grow from fledglings, to young adults.
As their antics develop – playing, bickering, sharing and protecting, they encourage her to think differently about our need for solitude, companionship, care and belonging, rest and retreat.
Every time I see her, she is preoccupied with hunting. Like the wise owl she seems to be, I am sure she knows that I am not a threat, and that is why she ignores me.
I am sure she recognises me and Will, that it shows in the shake of her head. A slow blink that says ‘you again?’ Before she turns and gets on with whatever she was doing.
