Barn owls facts
The only resident owl in Jersey is the barn owl. Barn owls have golden / buff coloured upper parts with silver grey and white under-parts and a distinctive white heart shaped face. Females often have darker upper surfaces and small black spots on the underside.
Barn owls stand 25cm tall and have a wingspan of 85cm. Males usually weigh around 330g and females around 360g. They are fully grown from only 10 weeks old.
Barn owls shriek and hiss, they don't hoot.
Hunting and roosting
Barn owls hunt mainly from the air and have some amazing adaptations to help them find and catch small mammals. They don't generally venture into woodland but will forage over any open habitats. Barn owls may roost or nest in any structure or tree that meets their requirements.
General decline
About 16 years ago a general decline in the number of barn owls in Jersey was noted. This was in many cases due to modern intensive farming practices which contributed to the loss of much open meadow and rough grassland. The removal of hedges and borders also affected the habitat of their main food source: mice, voles and shrews.
This situation has now improved considerably with the return of many fields to grass, while the perimeters of others have wide bands of natural growth. Also, people have realised the importance of looking after our environment.
Barn Owl Conservation Network Jersey
Barn Owl Conservation Network Jersey is a small team in Jersey which monitors and maintains 189 nest boxes. They record the barn owl activity, breeding and the number of young. They also look after any injured or sick owls in three special flight pens. When they are fit they release them back into the wild.
The Barn Owl Conservation Network can be contacted on the following numbers:
- Marc Peters 07797 858 372 mobile
- Bob Tompkins 07797 749 616 mobile
Parish barn owl boxes
| Parish |
Number of boxes |
| St Ouen |
22 |
| St Peter |
19 |
| St Brelade |
19 |
| St Mary |
12 |
| St Lawrence |
17 |
| St John |
10 |
| Trinity |
25 |
| St Martin |
20 |
| Grouville |
13 |
| St Clement |
5 |
| St Helier |
14 |
| St Saviour |
13 |
| Total |
189 |
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