Photo: John Scott

Now a registered charity, Wirral Barn Owl Trust aims to encourage a viable population of breeding wild Barn Owls on the Wirral peninsula.  We hope to achieve this by:

• Collecting and collating sighting reports 
• Locating and monitoring breeding pairs
• Visiting farmers and land managers to publicise the problem and promote habitat creation/protection
• Installing nestboxes in areas where there is suitable habitat and a shortage of natural nest sites
• Liaising with local authority planning departments to protect breeding birds and to encourage mitigation for Barn Owls when farm buildings are redeveloped 
• Provide supplementary feeding (in temporary, extraordinary conditions) 

Have you seen a Barn Owl recently?  Sighting reports are extremely important to us and are always recorded.  When collated they may indicate the location of a breeding pair.  The data may be crucial when a future planning application affects a Barn Owl breeding site, roosting site or important foraging habitat.  You can quickly and easily report a sighting to us from our Sightings page. Barn Owls are usually nocturnal but can be seen by day during harsh weather and during the summer when they are foraging for food for their young.  See our Sightings page for a for a description.  Barn Owls do not hoot like Tawny Owls. They make a very different, piercing screeching noise and sometimes a hissing or 'snoring' sound.

Barn Owls usually breed between March and August but have been know to be breeding during every month of the year.  If you know the location of a Barn Owl breeding site on the Wirral peninsula please let us know, strictly in confidence:  Ring: 0151 625 3969 or email: wirralbarnowltrust@sky.com

IMPORTANT:  Please don't go too close to a breeding site: disturbing breeding Barn Owls is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment.  Visits to breeding sites can only be done legally under a licence issued by Natural England.