The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 26H000'S WANT
Barn owls are
beneficial to farmers
but they're becoming
endangered
By Larry Drew
you may hay e a wanted
predator in the barn, silo or
that abandoned building on
your farm. This wanted one is no
fluff; it is an extremely effective
predator of mice and rats.
The rare barn owl is considered an
"agriculturally valuable predator" by
Bird Studies Canada, who estimates
that a nesting pair and their young
could eat upwards of a thousand mice
during a single nesting season. And
contrary to the belief of some, they
do not pose a risk to pets, chickens or
game birds.
Barn owls are at the northern
limits of their range in Southern
Ontario, and have been in serious
decline here due not only to a loss of
pasture and meadowlands for
feeding, but also the loss of nesting
Loss of pasture and meadowlands for feeding and buildings for nesting has
slashed barn owl numbers.
sites in older wooden barns and
buildings. The Barn Owl Recovery
Project is looking for farmers and
landowners in Southern Ontario who
have older buildings where nest
boxes can be placed in the hope of
attracting barn owls back to their
historic range.
If you have ever hung a bird
feeder or a bird house, you would
know it's a bit of a waiting game at
first — but with a potential pay-off
by the end of the season. With barn
owls the expected wait may take
several seasons.
Debbie Badzinski, the project's
volunteer co -coordinator, says
similar projects in the U.S. have
Joining programs can bring enjoyment to the whole family
D. you enjoy sitting in your
backyard and listening to a
chorus of frogs in the evening?
How about getting up early to try to
match the varied bird songs to the
songsters, or watching over your
backyard feeder? Maybe its summer
walks back the lane when the
butterflies are about. Then you or your
family may want to answer the call
and become a Wildlife Watcher.
Thousands of Ontario residents and
families, including ours, are taking
part in the many wildlife and nature
programs, monitoring projects, counts
and surveys that take place across the
province each year. The opportunities
abound regardless of your age and
level of experience. Some programs
are a weekend affair; others extend
over your choice of a season or more.
Some programs can be done right in
your own backyard such as the
Backyard Feeder Watch or Backyard
Frog Survey, while others get you
scouring the roadside habitats and
woodlots in your area.
I first signed up for the Ontario
Tree Atlas Project that mapped the
distribution of the province's trees. I
conveniently chose the survey square
that included the family farm. I
invested in a good guidebook and
headed to the woodlots. It wasn't long
before others in the family got
involved with the project, and
amazingly we came up with 63 wild
tree species in our immediate area.
While the Tree Atlas Project is now
a fond memory, the learning and
increased awareness it created still
enhances every nature walk we take.
This experience prompted us to
pursue a few other nature projects,
including the annual Breeding Bird
Survey that combines information
from volunteers to track the
populations and breeding ranges of
birds across North America. And Frog
Watch Ontario that is mapping frog
populations and distributions that then
can be tracked to monitor the changing
health of wetland habitats and
ecosystems. I can guarantee that
learning to recognize some common
bird songs, or discerning between the
calls of Ontario's 13 species of frogs
and toads (the volunteer kit included
an easy to learn tape-recording of their
calls) will make any walk in the woods
or sitting out in the backyard at night a
little more interesting — and you'll
know who's calling.0
22 THE RURAL VOICE