Barn Owl

General Information

Barn owls were first sighted in Ohio in 1861. They are not native to Ohio, but they began to move into the state after forests were cleared and areas of grassland and wetland became more abundant. Barn owls require these open habitats for hunting. Their populations steadily increased and peaked in the 1930s. Barn owls became the second most abundant owl species in Ohio, second only to the eastern screech owl. In the 1940s, however, populations started to decline as grasslands were cleared for farming. Meadow voles, which make up much of the barn owl's diet, disappeared as their habitat disappeared. Barn owls, in turn, began to disappear.

By the 1960s, very few nesting barn owls were left in the state. Those that remained were drastically affected by a pesticide called DDT. This chemical affected the owls' reproductive success, resulting in very few hatchlings. DDT was banned in 1972. Since the late 1980s, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has monitored barn owl populations through nest-box monitoring and bird banding. Populations are not abundant, but nesting pairs have increased slightly in recent years. The barn owl remains a threatened species in Ohio. 

Meet Our Barn Owls 

Three barn owls, Castor, Pollux, and Radar, live in the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden—Presented by KeyBank at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Radar 

Radar the barn owl came to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in July 2010. Three months earlier, he was born in captivity as part of a barn owl breeding and release program at Hawk Creek Wildlife Center in East Aurora, New York. He was hand-raised with the intention of release, but he became accustomed to people and imprinted on his caretakers. Due to Radar's attachment to humans, the wildlife rehabilitation center deemed it unsafe for him to be released into the wild. Radar is now one of our education birds, used to teach programs and classes throughout the Museum.

Lifespan  

Wild: 1–5 years  
Captivity: 20–25 years

Fun Facts  

  • Barn owls, like all owls, are silent flyers. Hairlike feathers on the edges of their wings dampen noise as they fly, allowing them to sneak up on prey and dodge predators.
  • Barn owls have many nicknames. They are sometimes called "sweetheart owls" because of their heart-shaped faces. They have also been called "ghost owls" because they like to live in dark, abandoned buildings. In addition, their call is an eerie scream, unlike the familiar hoot of some other owls. 
  • As many as 75% of young barn owls do not survive their first year of life. Many succumb to starvation or predation.
  • Barn owls live on a diet of small mammals (especially rodents, bats, and rabbits) and less commonly small birds.