Highways to hell for barn owls

One of the wonders of nature at night is watching a barn owl swoop for prey. 

This vision with a circular, off-white face spears through the blackness and is gone before you’ve time to take it all in. It’s while driving in the dark that we see them and therein lies a hazard. Studies show that being killed by vehicles is an important factor in the barn owl population decline, more so than had previously been thought.

A great deal of premature barn owl mortality had been put down to poisoning due to the birds eating mice and rats which had ingested poisons. But, due to their hunting behaviour, low flight and poor peripheral vision, barn owls are also especially vulnerable to road traffic. They are often hit as they swoop for mice and other prey on grassy banks.