Cold spring hits Barn Owls

The past couple of winters have seen some severe cold weather, making life difficult for many bird species. The Barn Owl is one species that can be heavily affected, and we have seen reporting rates of dead ringed birds rise. This usually happens earlier in the year but this year the reporting rate for late March has shown an exceptional increase, just when these birds are supposed to be starting to breed!

Barn Owl - Les Foster

At this time of year we normally receive reports of birds that have been hit by vehicles on the roads but this year a high proportion have been found emaciated close to peoples houses and allotments. This is a sure sign that things are not well in the countryside and food resources are very low.

The graph below shows just how extraordinary late March 2013 has been. The figure is sure to rise for early April this year but we hope it doesn't compare to late March.

Deep snow, wind and flooding has hindered the ability for Barn Owls to find food. This will also be having an effect on other birds of prey that feed on rodents and small mammals.

BTO Barn Owl found in Spain

We have just received details from the Spanish Ringing Scheme of a BTO-ringed Barn Owl found dead in northeast Spain. This is an amazing movement, as we have very few records of British-bred Barn Owls going anywhere interesting!

This bird was originally ringed as a nestling in Essex in July 2008. It was then found on 8 November at Pals, in the Girona region of Spain. We're not sure how it died, but it didn't have a head!

We have had a few movements of Barn Owls to Britain from abroad (shown in blue on the map), but fewer reports of birds ringed here and subsequently found abroad (shown in green on the map). Note the rather unusual report from Afghanistan of a bird ringed near an RAF base in Oxfordshire..... Presumably it didn't make it all the way there under its own steam!


View Larger Map

This is a fully functioning Google map, so you can zoom in and out and click on the markers to view the details for each movement.