Page 6 - Wildlife News April 2015

(Gary Cox)

Silent hunter

Of all our countryside birds, the barn owl is undoubtedly barn owls are seen and that provide or contribute to sufficient habitat
the most graceful. Its pure-white, heart-shaped face and for a breeding pair.
undersides contrast with ink-black eyes to give this
nocturnal bird its distinctive, haunting appearance. In flight these “Living Landscape projects may go further in helping barn owls by
providing larger, connected areas of habitat for feeding. If a number of
efficient hunters are pin-drop silent, enabling them to sneak up neighbouring landowners decide to create grassland habitat or wide
margins on their arable fields and alongside their hedges then this
on their prey and hunt at night simply by listening intently for may combine to provide new habitat for more owls. Also, by becoming
involved in conservation projects these landowners are more likely to
small mammals scurrying in the grass below. agree to put up a barn owl box on their land, thereby improving the
availability of nest sites.”
The secret behind the barn owl’s stealth-like flight lies in the
Dusk offers the best chance of witnessing a barn owl
upward curvature of its wings, which provides the lift necessary ‘quartering’ for prey, though birds may be active during the day
when food is scarce. Field margins and open country turn up the
to enable the bird to fly slower and thereby minimise the sound best meals, so these are the likeliest places to catch a glimpse
of this silent hunter. Nest boxes and areas of dense, tussocky
of air rushing past. Finely feathered wing edges and dense, soft grassland at Chimney Meadows and Wells Farm in Oxfordshire
make these two nature reserves a good starting point.
plumage further reduce any noise caused by friction or turbulence.
Have you managed to photograph a barn owl? Please share
Barn owl populations fluctuate according to seasonal weather your photos by uploading them to the BBOWT Flickr group at

patterns. This overlies a background of general decline due to www.flickr.com/groups/bbowt Tag them ‘barn owl’ and

loss of nest sites, habitat destruction, road deaths and possible we’ll show them on our website.

rodenticide poisoning. The only reasonably reliable survey was

a three-year census in 1995–97, which estimated a national

population of 4000 breeding pairs.

BBOWT’s Giles Strother explains the Trust’s work in supporting

this iconic bird: “Our nature reserves provide useful habitat of

permanent species-rich grassland and rough areas of tussocky pasture

aoSpnruudrngsemh-rlaaeuwnraeslg..W(ePdeetegarrClasroesespdla)untdupwshueirteabblaernneoswt blsocxaens hunt for voles, mice
at locations where

BEST TIME TO SEE… (Les Binns) Nightingale Reptiles
Marsh helleborine (Amy Lewis)
(Mike Snelle)This summer visitor sings outWarmer days bring the chance
By July the pink and white its rich, melodious tunes from of spotting a reptile soaking
spires of this orchid can be the moment it arrives in April
until the end of the breeding up the rays to regulate its body
seen in areas of damp or season in early June. The males temperature. Heathland such
marshy ground. Each spike are especially tuneful, singing as Greenham and Crookham
has up to 20 individual flowers
and when grouped en masse for many hours at a time to Commons and Decoy Heath is
attract a mate. The oldest the best place to seek the likes
present an unforgettable males can build up a song list of common lizards, grass snakes
impression. Look out for
it at Dry Sandford Pit in of up to 260 variations! and adders as they bask on
areas of sand and stone.
Oxfordshire.

6 Wildlife news