Owl Appeal

This appeal was launched to help fund research into the ecology and population status of owls in the UK – apex predators which sit at the top of the food chain and are excellent indicators of the health of the countryside.

Please note that this appeal is now closed to donations. If you’d like to support our work, you can donate to a current appeal >

Summary

This appeal funded a series of interrelated research projects and engagement activities about UK owl species, to gather up-to-date information about owl population and distribution trends and develop owl survey methodology for future monitoring work.
We conducted two large-scale citizen science surveys for Tawny Owls, a survey methodology trial for Little Owls, and extensive Short-eared Owl tracking work.
We developed engaging and up-to-date online resources about each UK owl species, including information about monitoring, natural history and identification.

Why we launched the Owl Appeal

We launched our Owl Appeal in 2017 to fund an exciting programme of research and engagement work on UK owls, and to provide long-term support for owl monitoring to our volunteer bird ringers and nest recorders.

The last species-specific survey for Tawny Owls was carried out more than a decade prior to the appeal, and BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey trends suggest that the Tawny Owl population is declining in the UK. We wanted to conduct specific surveys to gain up-to-date information about Tawny Owl distribution and abundance, and how this species uses different habitats.

We also urgently needed to learn more about Short-eared Owl breeding ecology and migration, after data from the Bird Atlas 2007–11 revealed a worrying contraction in this species’ UK range, and about Barn Owls and Little Owls, which had not been specifically surveyed at a national scale since the mid-1990s.

Project Owl research projects and resources

The Owl Appeal funded Project Owl, a set of interrelated research and associated engagement activities on our nation’s owls. Over 11,000 volunteers took part in our citizen science surveys, and we developed new material about owls and owl monitoring which will enable volunteers to undertake further high-quality studies in the future.

Two large-scale citizen science surveys, the Tawny Owl Calling Survey and the Tawny Owl Point Count Survey, helped fill gaps in our understanding of this familiar yet elusive species.

We researched the possibility of using playback in Little Owl surveys, and our results showed that this method can be highly effective for detecting this species during the breeding season. The application of playback in Little Owl monitoring could prove valuable in decisions about how to manage and conserve this species.

Our Short-eared Owl tracking research, conducted by BTO Scotland, helped us to understand more about the home range, habitat use and year-round movements of this species. Short-eared Owls are highly nomadic, travelling thousands of miles every year, and information we have gathered about their movements and habitat use is particularly important for conservationists and policy-makers who are designing owl-friendly land management strategies.

As part of Project Owl, we also developed our new Learn about owls resources. These provide engaging and up-to-date information about owl monitoring, nest box building, natural history, identification for Little Owl, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Short-eared Owl and Long-eared Owl. We also produced two in-depth articles about owl vision and owl hearing.

Scientific publications

How can playback be used to monitor Little Owls?

Clewley, G.D., Norfolk, D.L., Leech, D.I. & Balmer, D.E. 2016. Playback survey trial for the Little Owl Athene noctua in the UK. Bird Study 63(2): 268-272

Directing future surveys of Tawny Owls

Hanmer, H.J., Boothby, C., Toms, M.P., Noble, D.G. & Balmer, D.E. 2022. Large-scale citizen science survey of a common nocturnal raptor: urbanization and weather conditions influence the occupancy and detectability of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco. Bird Study 68(2): 233-244

Submitted for review

Massimino, D., Hanmer, H.J., Gillings, S., Noble, D.G. & Balmer, D.E. Periodic targeted surveys reveal habitat-specific trends in Tawny Owl Strix aluco occupancy in Great Britain.