Barn owl
Tyto alba
The barn owl is a characteristic and much loved farmland bird species. It is a medium sized owl with a distinctive white, heart shaped face, dark eyes and striking white under parts. Barn owls are specialised small mammal feeders, hunting prey such a mice and shrews in grassland and woodland edge habitats. They roost and nest in trees, dense tree canopies and in derelict buildings such as farm barns, church towers and chimneys.
Barn owls are typically associated with low intensity agricultural areas that have areas of long grassland, woodland and hedgerow. Breeding success is often variable and dependent on prey availability as well as availability of suitable nesting sites.
In the 50 years between 1932 and 1982 the barn owl population of the British Isles fell by 70% . However, by 1997 Project Barn Owl revealed that the national population had stabilised at about 4000 pairs. The National Conservation Plan for the Barn Owl, 1988-2008, developed by the Hawk and Owl Trust, highlighted the importance of river valleys, which held over 80% of the total breeding population in the U.K.
In the Tees Valley the barn owl has been on the edge of local extinction since the 1970s. In the mid 1070’s there were believed to be 8 breeding pairs, and 3-4 pairs in the mid 1980s, with the same population estimate in 2004.
