Gallery: Preventing owl road deaths by screening major roads
A tall screen of trees or shrubs, at least 2m high, can make all the difference to local Barn Owl numbers. Hunting Barn Owls are forced to fly higher and avoid the traffic.
- Barn Owl Hazards: Major roads
- Barn Owl road deaths – photo gallery.
- Unscreened major roads kill Barn Owls
- Chapter 7 of the Barn Owl Conservation Handbook is the definitive guide to this subject and covers mitigation measures.
- Our report ‘Barn Owls and Major Roads, results and recommendations from a 15-year research project‘ provides evidence of the circumstances and importance of Barn Owl deaths on major roads in the UK.
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- Where there is a screen, owls are forced to fly higher when they cross the road.
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- Birds flying over 5 metre scrub are above the height of lorries but even 2 metre scrub would help.
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- There should be no rough grass between the ‘screen’ and the road surface.
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- A VERY narrow strip of mown grass should not be too attractive to Barn Owls.
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- Money-saving solution: This verge on the A303 has been allowed to become scrub.
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- Verge scrub is attractive, good for wildlife, and if you do crash it will slow you down in relative safety.
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- Costly solution: a hedgebank planted with trees immediately next to the M5 hard shoulder.
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- Here, human habitation is screened from the M6.
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- A safe stretch for Barn Owls – the A38 Dual Carriageway with trees on both sides.