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Wild owl logo Educating on the conservation of British owls British owls

The Tawny Owl is our familiar hooting owl. Tawnies stay in their woodland home all year round, nesting in tree hollows, old crow’s nests or nesting boxes. They fiercely defend their territory and also their young, which leave the nest at a very young age.



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Little owl Barn owl Short-eared owl Tawny owl Long-eared owl
The Little Owl is our smallest species. They nest in old buildings, tree hollows, sometimes in holes in the ground and in nest boxes put up by conservation organisations. They can often be seen during the day on tops of farm buildings and telegraph poles.


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The Barn Owl is arguably our most beautiful owl. It nests in farm buildings, tree hollows, haystacks and nest boxes. This owl suffers heavily when vole numbers are suppressed by bad weather patterns or by insensitive management of grasslands by land owners.

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The elusive Long-eared Owl is an elusive owl, smaller than a Barn Owl, and one that normally breeds in conifer forests and large areas of scrub, using the abandoned nests of crows or similar.



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The Short-eared Owl is a ‘cousin’ of the Long-eared owl, but is a diurnal (daytime) species. This ground nesting owl breeds in northern Britain. Being nomadic, many head south to winter together with migrants from Eastern Europe.


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Nb. Snowy Owls and European Eagle Owls also occur in the UK (eagle owls breeding in small numbers).