Bringing Back Suffolk’s Barn Owl

Barn owls have declined in the UK since the 1930’s. By 2005 there were only 125 pairs in Suffolk and the lack of natural nest sites was identified as the critical factor limiting their breeding success. Barn owls take readily to nest boxes and a targeted effort led by the Trust has installed over 1000 boxes in north east Suffolk where the populations were strongest. In 2011, numbers were around 300 breeding pairs.Our goal now is to install 100 boxes adjacent to good feeding habitat to extend their range through mid and west Suffolk. As well as increasing overall numbers, securing sustainable breeding populations in west Suffolk will reconnect the Suffolk populations with those in Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.