The county’s leading nature conservation charity is appealing for sightings of barn owls as numbers of the species reach an all time record low.
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is encouraging members of the public to send in sightings of these beautiful creatures from across the county.
Figures from The Barn Owl Trust indicate that sadly, there are currently less barn owls in Britain than at any other time, since farming became widespread roughly one thousand years ago.
Scott Petrek, the Trust’s monitoring officer, said, “The barn owl has unfortunately seen a dramatic decline in numbers over the last century following changes in farming practices, with the prolonged cold weather we had this time last year having a further negative impact on numbers within the county.”
“An increase in the number of sightings will therefore help us to build an up-to-date picture of barn owl distribution across Staffordshire, and pinpoint areas of most significant decline.”
Figures were reflected by Staffordshire Barn Owl Action Group (BOAG) who reported just 15 pairs using their nest boxes in 2013, down from 54 pairs the previous year.
The most familiar British owl, barn owls will often hunt during the daytime over fields and grasslands looking for small mammals to feed on, such as rats, mice, and voles. Breeding in hollow trees, barn owls do not hoot in any way, instead making an eerie, distinctive shrieking noise.
To find out how you can send in details of sightings visit www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk.
For more information contact Staffordshire Wildlife Trust on 01889 880100.
