Good Barn Owl habitat

The best foraging habitat for Barn Owls is rough grassland – a thick, matted, tussocky mix of native grass species with lots of Field Voles and other small mammals. This gallery shows some examples of really good rough grassland – great for Barn Owls and lots of other wildlife.

Good Barn Owl Habitat 01

Rough grassland along the Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire

Good Barn Owl Habitat 02

Rough grass in a small Devon orchard

Good Barn Owl Habitat 03

Rough grass pond and field margins in Somerset

Good Barn Owl Habitat 04

Rough grass ditch banks in East Yorkshire

Good Barn Owl Habitat 05

Superb rough grassland at Cley in Norfolk

Good Barn Owl Habitat 06

When designing a tree plantation, leave strips unplanted like this

Good Barn Owl Habitat 07

Commercial forestry plantations are good for about the first 5-7 years

Good Barn Owl Habitat 08

Alternate strip ‘topping’ in late summer is a useful management technique

Good Barn Owl Habitat 09

The earth ‘bund’ between the field and the reeds is good rough grassland

Good Barn Owl Habitat 10

Vole holes can reach an average of 2 per sq. metre where there is a litter-layer >7cm deep

Good Barn Owl Habitat 11

Young deciduous plantations are good for the first 7-10 years

Good Barn Owl Habitat 12

Stubble fields in winter with waste grain are great for mice and Barn Owls

Good Barn Owl Habitat 13

Arable farming with patches or strips of rough grass is the best type of farmland for Barn Owls

Good Barn Owl Habitat 14

A rough grass field margin in Shropshire

Good Barn Owl Habitat 15

Part of the Barn Owl Trust’s own Nature Reserve (the LLP)

Good Barn Owl Habitat 16

Although it can, the rough grass does not need to go right up to the nest/roost site

Good Barn Owl Habitat 17

For a short while, this is great mouse habitat! © Derek Harper – Creative Commons Licence

Good Barn Owl Habitat 18

Isolated patches of rough grass are just as important as linear strips

Good Barn Owl Habitat

Open habitats around pig pens reduce the need for rodenticide use

Good Barn Owl Habitat

With a good 70mm litter layer, rough grassland can contain up to 400 Field Voles per hectare!

How to create and manage good habitat for Barn Owls