Latest news with #barnowls
News24
09-07-2025
- Science
- News24
Baby owls hatch at University of Free State library
Prompted by finding an owl in distress on campus in 2023, a team at the University of Free State built a nesting structure to protect a pair of barn owls. The nesting structure has proven useful for their safety, and the owls have managed to raise owlets. A motion-triggered, infrared field camera has been installed in the nesting structure to monitor the owls' activities. A family of owls that found a home at a University of the Free State (UFS) library is growing, with three new chicks spotted recently. According to a statement from the university, the owls have nested and raised chicks in the rooftop of its Sasol library since 2016. In 2023, however, a distressed owl was found outside the library. 'It appeared that the owl had been poisoned, most likely secondary poisoning from a contaminated rodent,' said Tanya Scherman of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. 'I phoned around trying to find more knowledgeable people who could help,' Scherman recalled. 'I consulted with a local vet, the Owl Rescue Centre in Pretoria, and Professor Francois Deacon from our Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. I wanted to know how we could keep the owls safe on campus,' Scherman explained. This led to a team from UFS, including Professor Deacon and his postgraduate students Ruan Higgs and Kaitlyn Taylor – designing a nesting box for the owls. 'I saw a great opportunity – not just to support the owls, but to involve students in hands-on learning,' said Deacon. 'These projects offer rare chances to study natural animal behaviour in real time, outside the confines of a lab,' he added. Scherman and her dad were involved in building the nesting box, which included a motion-triggered, infrared field camera to monitor the owls' activity without disrupting them. The owl nesting structure. University of Free State/Supplied The nesting structure has been placed in the roof space and secured on a ledge, where the owls are often spotted. Their intervention appears to be yielding positive conservation results. In 2023, a breeding pair managed to raise two owlets. This year, six eggs were found. 'Of those, we are currently able to see three owlets,' said Scherman. The cameras have also captured feeding events, chick development, and parental behaviour. Beanélri Janecke, wildlife ecologist, said owl conservation can be successful if the nest box is not disturbed. 'It is just interesting that since owls are usually associated in folklore with being wise – that they would choose the library, a place associated with knowledge and housing wisdom to nest in of all places,' said Janecke. The barn owl faces threats like road traffic and poisoning. On campus, they eat the rodents and reduce the need for poisons and pesticides. Fun facts about the barn owl The barn owl gets its name from their tendency to live in barns or abandoned farm buildings. The barn owls are active at night when there are not many people to observe them. The male brings food to the nest, and the female feeds the nestlings. They can catch prey in the pitch dark by just using their hearing. In many traditions, barn owls are messengers, protectors, and symbols of wisdom. 'They have a creepy, chilling, screeching call that does not sound like the normal hooting sound associated with an owl. Other sounds are purring, gasping, whining, hissing or screaming sounds, and they clack their beaks if threatened,' Janecke told News24. Deacon hopes this project inspires more cross-campus initiatives and opportunities to conserve other species.
ABC News
05-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Barn-owl project reducing farmers' reliance on poison to manage rats and mice
With a review into the risks of rodent bait in Australia about to be released, an award-winning initiative is using barn owls as a natural alternative to control rats and mice on farms. Wildlife organisations have called for a ban on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides due to concerns that they kill and harm wildlife that eat baits or poisoned rodents. Studies here and overseas show some rats and mice are developing genetic resistance to poisonous baits, reducing their effectiveness while potentially increasing their use. But a pilot project in the Northern Rivers, New South Wales, is offering farmers hope of significantly reducing rat numbers in macadamia orchards. The Owls Eat Rats initiative has been in the works for a decade, with the pilot project launched at Banyula, a regenerative farm at Clunes, about 30 kilometres from Byron Bay, two years ago. It involved the installation of hunting roosts and barn owl nesting boxes, addressing Australia's wildlife accommodation crisis caused by clearing trees with hollows that take up to 150 years to form. Founder Alastair Duncan said it took time and effort to establish barn owl colonies, but the impact on rodent control had been so promising that three neighbouring farms had signed up. "They [owls] move in, they breed and they hunt and each breeding event takes about 1,000 rats out of the system," Mr Duncan said. "Farmers don't necessarily want to use poison; it's just that they don't have alternatives. "So when they see something that's working, they jump on board pretty quick." At Banyula, 70 nest boxes — including 12 for owls — span across the property, which has 7,500 macadamia trees and 75 hectares of new plantings of koala habitat and rainforest. Success is monitored by tracking nut damage in the orchards using trail cameras, physically inspecting nest boxes, and examining owl pellets — the regurgitated fur, bones, and feathers the birds cannot digest. "We're finding that 90 per cent [of pellets] is rats and the rest is house mice, which are a really significant pest in the agriculture industry," Mr Duncan said. Wildlife Health Australia notes increasing reports of toxicities associated with rodenticide exposure in Australian wildlife, including birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and further work is needed to better understand and manage the risks. Mr Duncan said secondary rodenticides build up in predators' bodies every time they eat a poisoned rodent, affecting their hunting, breeding and survival. As opposed to the days it can take for rodents to bleed to death internally after consuming bait, barn owls are fast and efficient killers. Banyula director Matthew Bleakley said owls had allowed them to reduce rodenticide use, target applications and choose less harmful baits. Late last month, Owls Eat Rats was awarded $50,000 by Taronga Zoo's Hatch accelerator program, which helps ecopreneurs tackle serious environmental and conservation challenges. Mr Duncan said the grant would help fund academic research and further his goal of mainstreaming nature-based pest control. Mr Duncan planned to replicate the project on the Sunshine Coast, where he lives, and was working with the Australian Macadamia Society. "It's a massive boost for us," he said. Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat director David Brook spent a decade perfecting barn owl nesting boxes, prioritising comfort and safety. Each pair of owls needs at least three nesting boxes over a small area to provide variety in their habitat. "We realised that the owls were not only breeding back-to-back — so we had four different clutches of owlets in a 12-month period — but they were bringing in 10 to 15 rats a night to feed the owlets," Mr Brook said. "The next stage of this project is to rigorously investigate the idea. "We're bringing in university and industry partners and looking at just how replicable it is across other landscapes and other industries," Mr Brook said. Mr Brook said wildlife rodenticide poisoning and potentially associated road traffic strikes required more examination. "We're now starting to work with the local wildlife hospitals and with Taronga Zoo and universities to better evaluate the impact of toxic rodenticides on the barn owls," he said. Agricultural chemicals are regulated by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). The APVMA is reviewing anticoagulant rodenticides warfarin, coumatetralyl, diphacinone, brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, difethialone and flocoumafen, based on public health, worker safety and environmental safety. In a statement, an APVMA spokesperson said it was "preparing the documents for our proposed regulatory decision for the anticoagulant rodenticides review". "We expect to publish this in the near future, which will start a three-month public consultation period," the spokesperson said.
Malay Mail
20-05-2025
- Science
- Malay Mail
‘Silent guardians' of the fields: What to know about Asian barn owls that are helping Malaysian farms fight rat infestations for less
GEORGE TOWN, May 21 — The Asian barn owls, natives of Malaysia, are known as 'silent guardians' — whose voracious appetite for rats protects valuable crops on local farms. Since 2014, the Barn Owl and Rodent Research Group (Borg) from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been encouraging the conservation of barn owls and introducing the species to padi farms and oil palm plantations as natural pest control agents. Borg, spearheaded by Associate Professor in Pest Management Hasber Salim, has successfully introduced thousands of artificial nest boxes to attract barn owls to oil palm plantations and farms nationwide since then. Recently, 20 artificial nest boxes were installed in padi farms in Kepala Batas to reduce pesticide costs and increase yield — a collaborative effort by Borg, Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), Global Giving Grant and Corteva Agriscience. But what do you actually know about this local species? Associate Professor Hasber Salim displays a pellet that a barn owls regurgitated after consuming rats. — Picture by Opalyn Mok Here are some facts about the barn owls:
Malay Mail
13-05-2025
- Science
- Malay Mail
Bye-bye rat poison: USM-Bernas unleash barn owls to help Penang farmers cut costs, boost yields in pilot project
SEBERANG PERAI, May 13 — Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) today launched a pilot project together with Padi Beras Nasional Berhad (Bernas) to introduce barn owls as natural pest control for paddy farms in Kepala Batas, Penang. Banking on the fact that a family of barn owls can kill about 3,000 rats a year, USM's Barn Owl and Rodent Research Group (BORG) is pushing for this sustainable pest control method to be introduced nationwide. The pilot project will introduce 20 nest boxes to be placed at the paddy farms of B40 farmers in Paya Keladi, Kepala Batas, said Associate Professor Hasber Salim from BORG. 'Barn owls naturally exist around paddy fields but they don't build their own homes so they are always looking for spots that they can turn into nests such as rooftops of houses or holes in tree trunks,' he said at the launch of the project here with Bernas, in collaboration with Global Giving Grant and Corteva Agriscience. 'We found that they need 'hotels' to stay in any location so we built nest boxes that fit their needs to place at these paddy farms,' he added. He said the nest boxes will attract barn owls and once they set up nests, they will naturally hunt rats in that area. 'One nest of owls can protect an area of up to 500 hectares,' he said. A young barn owl in one of the nest boxes that will be installed in the paddy fields to attract barn owls. — Picture by Opalyn Mok He said BORG will also study the effectiveness of placing the nest boxes in this project especially in how the owls control the rat population. 'This is a way to reduce costs for the farmers as they do not need to invest in chemical pesticides such as rat poison to get rid of rats,' he said. He said rat poison would often cause the death of other animals such as owls and snakes that eat the poisoned rats. 'This is a more sustainable and environmentally safer approach in controlling rats,' he said. Twenty farmers were selected for the barn owl pilot project. — Picture by Opalyn Mok In his speech, Bernas supply management senior manager Haslizan Hashim expressed confidence that the project will reduce the farmers' dependency on chemical pesticides. 'This will not only reduce costs for the farmers but also increase yield as a reduction in pests means higher yields,' he said. He said Bernas is committed to share what it learnt from BORG and to expand this project to all the paddy farms nationwide. 'I believe this project will bring about a significant positive impact to the industry which can protect our food security,' he said.
