Barn Owl Conservation Handbook: A comprehensive guide for ecologists, surveyors, land managers and ornithologists

The Barn Owl Tyto alba must surely be one of the most charismatic of Britain’s birds. Its unique appearance, nocturnal habits and tendency to nest close to human habitation ensure that it is familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in wildlife, resulting in its adoption as a figurehead species for farmland conservation. Given its high profile and enduring popularity, it should come as no surprise that there has been a plethora of publications on British Barn Owls over the last 30 years, from the classic monograph of Bunn et al. (1982) to the survey results of Shawyer (1987) and the study of predator-prey interactions undertaken by Taylor (1994); for reviews of these works, see, respectively, Ibis 125: 424, 132: 140–141, and 137: 130–131. All of which raises the valid question: do we really need another book on Barn Owls? The fact that I am able to respond in the affirmative is largely because the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook differs significantly from the aforementioned works in terms of both content and target audience. As its title suggests, this is very much a hands-on tome, aiming to provide practical advice to those working in the field, be they consultants surveying for breeding pairs, developers renovating properties or conservationists keen to improve environmental conditions for local populations. The Barn Owl Trust have offered this type of support via helplines and through their website since the charity was founded in 1988 and are therefore ideally placed to produce such a guide. The strongest sections of the Handbook are unsurprisingly those that discuss methods used to detect the presence of Barn Owls at a site and techniques for improving the local environment for breeding pairs. Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive overview of the legal protection afforded to species on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act and the licensing required when undertaking survey work. Chapter 4 concentrates on the survey methods themselves, providing a framework for site-occupancy assessment and a comprehensive summary of the signs left by roosting and nesting birds; the illustrated descriptions of typical nest locations, pellets of different ages and feather remains are likely to be extremely useful to all fieldworkers. Furthermore, information about the pellets, eggs and chicks of potential confusion species is presented alongside information about Barn Owls, a frequent omission in such publications. My only disappointment, given the authors’ experience in monitoring nests and ringing chicks, was the absence of an equivalent section on protocols for these activities, or any discussion of the importance of such work in contributing to national monitoring schemes. The following two chapters explore options for site improvement and focus, respectively, on creation of foraging habitat and provision of artificial breeding sites. Maximizing the area of rough grassland is key to maintaining healthy populations of small mammals, but it is important to ensure that the quality of the sward is also maintained once the habitat is created. Appropriate management regimes are suggested for each of the options explored in Chapter 5 and guidance as to the most appropriate options under Entry Level (Environmental) Stewardship is also given. Detailed designs for interior, exterior and pole-mounted boxes are presented in Chapter 6, with extensive discussion of construction techniques and siting, clearly displaying the considerable knowledge accrued by the authors over the last 25 years. Other options outlined for the more ambitious reader include building a box into the structure of the property or even creating a bespoke owl tower. Further information on planning regulations and mitigation for the species can be found in Chapter 8, while Chapter 9 deals, again in considerable depth, with the rehabilitation of injured birds. Another positive feature of the Handbook is the collation of results from a large number of commissioned reports and PhD theses that researchers may otherwise be unaware of. While this is extremely useful, it mustbe remembered that the interpretation of these results has not necessarily been subject to peer review. In the chapters relating to ecology and population dynamics, there is an over-reliance on such references to support factual statements, and it is often difficult to weigh up the evidence for the conclusions drawn in the absence of more extensive discussion concerning the data structure and analyses used. While I have no doubt that many Barn Owls are killed on roads, for example, the extent to which this mortality has influenced population trends is currently difficult to assess. Demographic modelling of Barn Owl populations is particularly challenging: whereas temporal changes in productivity and juvenile survival rates are relatively well monitored, at least in recent years, little is known about trends in abundance at a national scale and data pertaining to numbers of breeding attempts and dispersal behaviour are also sparse. Overall, however, the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook provides an accessible, well-illustrated guide to the practicalities of Barn Owl fieldwork that will doubtless be of interest and use to the key target audience, namely those professionals and volunteers involved in surveying, developing and managing sites for the species. -- David Leech * IBIS * Barn owls have undeniable charm. The other night I saw the pale, ghostly outline of a barn owl waft upwards into the night sky, only the third I have seen this year, and each encounter is a memorable moment. Down the centuries they have been the farmer's friend, denizen of his barns. The cat of the sky, a mouser and rat-catcher of brilliance, barn owls attract admiration and affection, sentiments which were behind the establishment of The Barn Owl Trust in 1988, an extremely effective single species organisation. This substantial book aims to be comprehensive, an indispensable guide for ecologists, surveyors, land managers and ornithologists. At almost 400 detailed pages,  it is remarkably thorough. Its nine chapters cover ecology, legal aspects, surveys, habitat creation and management, accommodation for barn owls, mortality, planning issues and injury and rehabilitation. It is full of case studies and practical examples of barn owl conservation in action. For me this is one of the most winning aspects of this book: it keeps the practicalities of barn owl conservation in view at all times. Inevitably in a book with a number of authors, I found the writing patchy, and some sections were not as engaging as perhaps I would have liked. lt as a heavyweight tome at a heavy price, so it will pass by most general readers. But this is a handbook designed to draw together a mass of material in one place, a source of information rather than of bedtime reading. As such it contains a wealth of information of interest to its target audience and beyond. Perhaps also, despite the challenges that humans inadvertently put in the path of barn owl survival, like motorways, it is an uplifting tribute to the energy and commitment that so many people have devoted to the cause of this beautiful bird. -- James Robertson * Natur Cymru * The Barn Owl Trust has produced an excellent guide for anyone involved in the conservation of barn owls. There are chapters on starting a survey, creating new habitat, providing nest boxes, mitigation and mortality.  I was glad to see that the authors used 'Barn owl mortality - the brood of 101' when discussing the survivial rates of young barn owls. I always use this when I'm asked to give a talk on barn owls and my audience is always stunned that at the end of two years only 8 out of 101 have survived.  For me the most important chapter is 'Casualty assessment, short-term care and the principles of rehabilitation'. Its 30 pages show, step by step, the procedures for dealing with an injured barn owl, with very clear photographs of each step. It covers how to pick up an injured owl, dealing with dehydration and how to force feed an injured owl. It also stresses the importance of finding the right person to hand the owl to for rehabilitation and release back into the wild.  This chapter ought to be reprinted as a leaflet as it is an outstanding guide not only for dealing with injured barn owls but also for most British birds of prey.   -- Nigel Middleton * The Peregrine * How I wish this book had been on my shelves when I first began my study of Barn Owls 47 years ago.  If it had been, countless hours of lost sleep and many millions of midge bites could have been avoided, for it answers virtually every question a Barn Owl researcher needs to ask.  It is a magnificent work and must have taken a herculean effort to put together and verify the mass of data held within its 395 pages. The books nine chapters cover the Introduction, Ecological Issues, Legal Considerations, Barn Owl Surveys, Foraging Habitat and its Creation & Management, Nestboxes and other Barn Owl Accommodation, Mortality, Planning Issues, Casualty Assessment, Short-term Care and Rehabilitation, plus two Appendices and 11 pages of references plus a comprehensive Index.  Truly a ‘Magnum Opus’ which is a ‘must buy’ for anyone working in Barn Owl conservation.  It is what it says on the tin – not a monograph on the species, but a working-man’s handbook which will be a vital tool for all of us involved with the species for many years to come.  I heartily congratulate the senior author David Ramsden MBE and we have wasted no time in adding this book to both our personal and Trust libraries.  The copies are already well thumbed! David Ramsden is the co-founder and Director of the Barn Owl Trust based in Devon, an organisation which has dedicated itself to studying and monitoring the species with the long-term aim of re-establishing it in areas where it has become scarce or absent. In a similar way to our own humble beginnings in 1972 as the British Owl Breeding & Release Scheme (BOBARS) the Barn Owl Trust began life when two young people decided to try and re-establish Barn Owls in the area of their own home in 1984.  Those people were David and his wife Frances. Working together they founded the BOT in 1988 and in the ensuing 24 years have produced an incredible number of comprehensive reports and leaflets based on their own personal experiences. These have been much used and consulted by the rest of us working for this charismatic species as well as by Councils, the Highways Authority and British Governmental bodies.  As such the BOT has certainly left its footprint in the sands of Barn Owl conservation and without doubt this fine book is undoubtedly its finest production of all. I am pleased that David has dedicated his book to Frances with the words “Without Frances there would be no Barn Owl Trust and the knowledge upon which this book is based would never have been accumulated”.  How well these words resonated with me, for the same fully applies to my own case.  Without Jenny Thurston there would be no World Owl Trust, and both David and I owe our MBE’s and our organisations to the sheer hard work and patience of our respective ladies. David and I have known each other for over twenty years and served together on the DOE Barn Owl Working Group in the early 1990’s when the merits or demerits of Barn Owl captive-breeding and release schemes were being discussed.  Suffice to say that we have not always seen eye to eye on everything, but this is no bad thing, for the day we think we know it all is the day to find something else to do!  We can all learn, no matter how clever we think we are! That is my way of saying that I do not agree with everything that is being said in this book, but many of these differences are I am sure merely down to our respective geographical locations and their differing topographies, climates and stocking levels.  The core area of work for the Barn Owl Trust is in the mixed farming lands of South West England, in particular Devon and Cornwall, while our own work is centred primarily in heavily sheep-grazed pastoral Cumbria and the uplands of Lancashire.  This results in several important differences and similar differences have been highlighted by both Ian Taylor (1994) and more recently Jeff Martin (2008) in their splendid books with emphasis on Barn Owls in S/W Scotland and East Anglia respectively. This is not the place to go into details, but since Derek Bunn, John Wilson and I wrote the first-ever monograph on the Barn Owl in 1982 a great deal has changed both here in Britain and elsewhere in the world, and a great deal more has been learned about this owl and what makes it tick or not tick. The Barn Owl Handbook has been written specifically to tell us how we can best set about helping ‘our’ own White-breasted Barn Owl Tyto alba alba to prosper in the UK’s rapidly changing environment, and it provides us with superb advice on how to help us on our way. Without any hesitation I compliment the Barn Owl Trust on a job very well done, and would urge every Barn Owl conservationist, fieldworker, researcher (professional or amateur), or even simply an admirer, to buy this lavishly illustrated ‘bible’.  You will not regret it and will certainly learn a great deal from its pages. -- Tony Warburton Here you will find guidance on all aspects of Barn Owl conservation, from the care of injured birds, the creation and conservation of suitable habitat for their maintenance and successful breeding, to thorny questions about the impact of major roads and secondary poisoning by rodenticides. It would be easy to write a book about Barn Owls that would be a classic in the genre of conservation gloom and doom. Barn Owls are under pressure from multiple sources which are well analysed and described here. But rather than throwing up our hands, we are invited by this guide to take a very positive approach. -- Graham Martin, Emeritus Professor Centre for Ornithology, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham The most complete and concise catalogue of techniques, methods and practices used to protect the Barn Owl, both in captivity and in the wild ... Anyone who has any interest and any capacity to assist in Barn Owl conservation should own this important book. -- Chris Packham Overall, the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook provides an accessible, well-illustrated guide to the practicalities of Barn Owl fieldwork that will doubtless be of interest and use to the key target audience, namely those professionals and volunteers involved in surveying, developing and managing sites for the species. -- David Leech * IBIS * This substantial book aims to be comprehensive, an indispensable guide for ecologists, surveyors, land managers and ornithologists. At almost 400 detailed pages,  it is remarkably thorough. Its nine chapters cover ecology, legal aspects, surveys, habitat creation and management, accommodation for barn owls, mortality, planning issues and injury and rehabilitation. It is full of case studies and practical examples of barn owl conservation in action. For me this is one of the most winning aspects of this book: it keeps the practicalities of barn owl conservation in view at all times. -- James Robertson * Natur Cymru * The Barn Owl Trust has produced an excellent guide for anyone involved in the conservation of barn owls. ... For me the most important chapter is 'Casualty assessment, short-term care and the principles of rehabilitation'. Its 30 pages show, step by step, the procedures for dealing with an injured barn owl, with very clear photographs of each step. -- Nigel Middleton * The Peregrine * How I wish this book had been on my shelves when I first began my study of Barn Owls 47 years ago.  If it had been, countless hours of lost sleep and many millions of midge bites could have been avoided, for it answers virtually every question a Barn Owl researcher needs to ask.  It is a magnificent work and must have taken a herculean effort to put together and verify the mass of data held within its 395 pages.  -- Tony Warburton