Suffolk Barn owl population recovery benefits other wildlife

The Barn owl population in Suffolk has recovered to levels last seen in the 1930s. This is providing a boost to other wildlife. Barn owl increases are being driven by Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s community Barn Owl project, together with more environmentally friendly farming practices including an increase in rough grassland and more careful use of pesticides. The community project has installed over 500 nest boxes compensating for lost sites in old trees and barns. This has allowed Barn owls to move back into areas where landowners have left wider field margins and established more rough grassland where voles and mice can be hunted. There are examples where landowners are deliberately linking field margins and grassland which wildlife is using as corridors.

The nest boxes are providing sites for other birds, notably Kestrels and Stock doves. The increase in grassland also benefits small mammals and farmland birds such as Yellowhammers.