The Barn Owl is a bird very easy to identify, with white underparts and face and creamy and grey upper parts. Although mainly nocturnal, it is possible to watch Barn Owls hunting during daytime after a wet night, when they are unable to hunt. Barn Owls feed on small mammals: voles, mice and shrews, although in poor years they will also hunt small birds or even insects. They breed in old buildings, barns and tree holes, and take readily to nextboxes. Areas with rough grassland are favoured, as are likely to hold good vole populations. Populations fluctuate strongly due to cycles in the abundance of voles and also weather, as they suffer in cold or wet winters.
A Barn Owl in flight at Flinton, Holderness, 15/06/2020.
Status and Distribution in Hull
The Barn Owl is a scarce resident in the peri-urban areas around Hull, including at Noddle Hill, Kingswood, Priory Fields, New Ings and Hull Road.
Conservation
The Barn Owl was green-listed in 2015, after a strong population recovery. Populations were in strong decline in the 1980s due to farming intensification and pesticide use, with a low point in 1997. Conservation and awareness programmes including nest monitoring (the BTO Barn Owl Monitoring Programme, BOMP) and setting many nest boxes in suitable habitat were likely to be responsible for the recovery of this iconic bird.
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