Everyone loves owls, but we rarely see them, as they are nocturnal, when they come out to hunt. Owls are endangered as their natural habitats (hollow trees and barns) have been lost to development. Owls eat rabbits and rats, so using poison can harm them (gardener Alys Fowler writes that ‘if I am to love owls, then I must learn to live with rats’. Also read up on how to help our birds of prey.
Don’t pick up injured birds of prey without using thick gloves and calling Barn Owl Trust or a wildlife rescue for help (Help Wildlife has useful info).
Stay with small dogs and pets near hovering birds of prey, offer cover for outdoor pets, exercise pets together and feed them indoors. The Spruce has useful tips on how to keep pets safe from birds of prey.
The Tawny Owl is a guide to this night-time screecher that lives worldwide, and is the most common owl in Britain and Europe. Learn of the owl’s habitat, voice, diet, nesting and chicks, illustrated with beautiful artwork and maps, plus a colour plate section with photos of the owl and its habitat. Jeff Martin is a field ornithologist with a passion for studying owls.
Barn Owl Trust is the national organisation that knows how to help owls and has handbooks to help you know the right nestbox to use (owls don’t nest like other birds and if you choose the wrong one, they may lay eggs on damp floors, and owlets could die). The site has tips to choose, site and care for nestboxes.
Around 5000 owls are killed each year on roads, mostly because they fly low and modern development again causes harm. Barn Owl Trust has a free guide for town planners (to help them build screens of trees and shrubs, which would force hunting birds to fly higher, to avoid cars). Owls are often electrocuted by flying into overhead wires, so insulating the cables and using bird diverters (which also helps swans) may help. Another collison risk above are ground-mounted solar panels (Barn Owl Trust suggests rough tussocky grassland with a litter-layer).
Other hazards for owls are open water (use secure water butts and for deeper liquid (like cattle troughs) you can make a float (watch the video) – floating a piece of wood is not enough. Owls also suffer from cold as they don’t store fat in cold weather, and climate change is creating weather that is impacting common prey like field voles and common shrews. Fracking also affects owl habitats.
Beautiful Books on Owls
The Book of the Barn Owl shines a line of what goes on after dark, in the countryside. This grogeous little book also offers conservation tips and tells the story of a barn owl’s early life – from first pip of the shell to leaving the nest.
Owl Sense is a beautiful book by Miriam Darlington who decides to take ‘owl walks’ with her teenage son, to identify every European speciesof this elusive bird. Travelling from Britain to the frosted borders of the Arctic (entangled in a search for a cure for her son’s mystery illness), the prose is exquisite:
In her native Lapland during the summer months, there is no night-time. And in the winter, she must rely on her ears for months of darkness. Then, something startled her. As her wings filled the air, I heard nothing but the whisper of snow falling in thickets of spruce and pine.
Owls: Our Most Enchanting Birds is a gorgeous gift book by talented artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell. This delightful read profiles 50 owls worldwide, with gorgeous illustrations and funny yet educational text.
His mellow single hoots sound like the subdued ‘woofs’ of a dog who’s trying very, very hard not to wake you. Or you may hear his deep, persistent chuckle: whatever the joke, he finds it hilarious.
