NorfolkWildlifeTrust -a ghostlypresence

A Ghostly Presence

By Helen Baczkowska,Acting Conservation Manager at NorfolkWildlifeTrust

Sometimesitisjust aglimpse, aflicker in thedark,aspale as apossible ghost.Other times Iamluckier andget aproper view of abarn owl,quartering acommonon adampmorning, or following thelineofa hedgebetween afarmyard and meadowsatdusk. From adistance,thebirds look purewhite, especially from below, andthe scientificname, Tytoalba, literallymeans‘white owl’.Close up, thetopsofthe wings arepale gold,fleckedwithgrey, andthe longerwing feathershave brown bars.Thefaceisheart-shaped, withlargedarkeyesand acurious, cat-like expression.Myfavourite view of abarnowl is when itsits on abranchorfencepostand turns thoseliquideyestowards me,sothat, forjustamoment, I canenjoythe beautyofthe bird as it rests. Once or twiceinmylife, Ihavehandled rescuedbarn owlsandtheirsizeissurprising –flyinginthehalf-lightof morning or eveningthey look like abig bird,with longwingsand adumpy body.Infact,although they standarounda foothigh,

Barn owlinflight,creditJulian Thomas

they weighalmost nothingand seemtobemadeentirelyof feathers.Thatlightnessandthe feathers, whichsilencethesound oftheirflight,makethe birds stealthykillersofvoles,miceand theother smallmammalsthat makeuptheirdiet. Inspringandearly summer, this prey willbecarriedback to abarn, achurch or even ahole in atreeand fedtoahandfulof young.Asthey grow,the chicks, likealotof owls,canbe heard making wheezingandhissing noises –somepeople saythey soundlikeold men, butit reminds me of children,hiding inthehedge,saying“psst”ina stage-loudwhisper. Oncethey areadults,the owls’callis nota hoot, butan almostunearthlyshriek;in some areasthey areactually knownas‘screechowls’.That eeriecall,the quietflightand ghostlypaleness ledtoabelief inthepastthat abarnowl was aportentofdoom–a“prophet of woeand mischance,”wrote

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Barn owlrestingandhunting,creditElizabethDack

Barn owlsittingon afencepost,creditElizabethDack

Chaucer. Nothing,ofcourse,is further from thetruthandeven today,farmerswelcome barn owls as agoodmethod forcontrolling rodentsintheiryards. Likemanywildspecies found in theClaylands,barn owls have livedalongside humans formillennia. Hedgehogs, bats, great crested newtsand more thrive intheold,farmed landscapeoftheClaylandsand connectionsbetween existing habitats arevital. Withthisin mind, NorfolkWildlifeTrust’s ‘Wilder Connections’ project issupportinglandownersand communitygroups to improve thelinks acrossthelandscape by restoringandre-creatingponds, hedgerows, meadowsandmore. This, andother conservation effortsinthearea, meanthat specieslikebarn owlswill hopefullysoonbeseennotas prophetsof woe, butasasymbol of athrivingandre-connected countryside.

TheWilder Connections projectisfundedbythe government’sGreenRecovery Challenge Fund.The fund isbeing deliveredbyThe NationalLotteryHeritageFund inpartnershipwith Natural Englandand theEnvironment Agency.

www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk