Poor breeding years for barn owls

The World Owl Trust started Life as the British Owl Breeding and Release Scheme and even though the name has changed, the ethos has altered very little. We are still heavily involved in British Owl Conservation. Collecting Yearly Data from around 60 pairs of Barn Owls in Cumbria as well as the other 4 species of Native Owls and the European Eagle Owl which has established itself in the UK and bred successfully over the past 15 years that we know of. In no small part due to the work of World Owl Trust members. In 2016 the Bowland pair of European Eagle Owls have produced 3 youngsters and reared them to fledging.

The last two years 2015 and 2016 have been very poor years for Barn Owls Breeding, in no small part due to Global Warming. The wet mild winters and storms have caused problems for the Birds themselves, but have led to the wiping out of the Barn Owls preferred prey item, the Short Tailed Vole. The situation is looking very Grim indeed for the most iconic of our British Owls.