Owl Information

Wild Owl - educating on the conservation of British owls

There are 5 species of breeding owls in the UK:

Little owl (Athene noctua)

Barn owl (Tyto alba)

Long-eared owl (Asio otus)

Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus)

Tawny owl (Strix aluco)

In addition, the European eagle owl is breeding in small numbers in some parts of northern Britain and then there is the snowy owl that hasn't bred since the '70's. Vagrant singleton birds sometimes also find their way to our shores, such as the scops owl.

All of the main breeding owls are currently in decline, some seriously. After a boom year in 2004, barn owls have suffered heavy losses through the winter and spring of 2004/2005. Numbers of it's main prey, the short-tailed field vole has suffered from the weather conditions through the winter and has resulted in many barn owls starving to death through the winter and others not being fit to breed in 2005 - those that did try were then affected by heavy rain in the spring and many nest sites failed.

Habitats: Without food, owls cannot survive - they eat live prey and this prey is found in specific habitats - creating these habitats can give a lifeline to your local owls. Click here for more information on habitats.

Nest Boxes: These provide extra housing options for owls and, if sited sensibly, can often provide greater protection for both the adults and young. Click here for more information on nest boxes.

Care of young owls: Every year young owls are brought in to rescue centres all over Britain. Click here for some useful information on how to deal with a young owl if you should find one.

Preventing Casualties: It’s tough enough not being able to find food, but there are other life threatening issues that owls have to deal with.
Click here to learn about helping to expose them to these threats.

Tawny owl numbers have also fallen over the past 7 years from about 50,000 prs to below 20,000 prs. Little owls have similarly had poor years recently. It all makes for very bad reading.

Although we can help stop global warming by becoming more environmentally friendly, we are unable to change the weather overnight.
There are many issues that affect the birds and although by no means the whole deal, here are some of the main ones that we can in some way help with to give our owls a helping hand.

Barn owl

To discuss owls in South Gloucestershire, visit the Wild Owl British Owl Forum and share your views with other owl enthusiasts in the region and around the country.
To view page click here.