Members of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve had a fantastic talk on Saturday 8^th March by Terry Hallahan, who is one of the leaders of the Sussex Barn Owl Group. The talk ‘Barn Owls and Barn Owls in Sussex’ was in two parts: the first covering interesting facts about the Barn Owl, plus it’s demise and more recent upsurge; the second part covering the activities of the Barn Owl Group who are committed to preservation and protection of Sussex’s Barn Owl population.

Amazingly, Barn Owls are the world’s most widely distributed land bird, and with 35 subspecies, they are found on every continent except Antarctica. Unfortunately, we are at one of their northern extremes and in some years, they struggle in our climate. Unable to hunt in wet weather, they need excellent habitat in which to find plentiful food when it is dry. In addition to the lack of habitat, and nesting sites proving challenging for them, road traffic collisions are a major problem accounting for the deaths of between 3000 and 5000 Barn Owls each year. This equates to about 65% of all reported fatalities.

To counteract the loss of traditional nesting sites, the Barn Owl Group puts up boxes and it is now estimated over 90% of Barn Owls are using boxes. This has helped to increase their numbers over the last few years.

In addition to installing boxes at suitable locations, the Barn Owl Group works with landowners and undertakes considerable monitoring, ringing and conservation activities.

They are always looking for help, donations and sponsorship. For more information see https://www.sos.org.uk/archives/5869 or email info@sussexbarnowlgroup.org