Want to catch a glimpse of a graceful barn owl looming out of the darkness? While silent on the wing, their white feathers make them a magnificent sight at dusk. Read our tips to spot barn owls.
A barn owl stretches its wings as it flies in dappled sunlight across glistening water.
How to identify barn owls
With a white heart-shaped face, legs, and underbody, barn owls are familiar and easily recognisable. They have golden brown backs, wings, and heads with black and grey mottling. The soft fringe along the outside of its flying feathers absorbs the sound of their flight.
Six tips to see barn owls
Next time you're on the towpath, use our top tips to increase your chances of spotting these elusive birds of prey.
1. Wait for calm weather
Barn owls hate strong winds and rain, which make it much harder to fly. Choose a still calm day for a better chance of spotting barn owls.
While you might see an owl throughout the year, they spend most of their time in winter on the wing, hunting for food to survive the cold.
2. Head out in the evening
Don't worry too much about the time of day. While barn owls are nocturnal birds, they extend their hunting hours into the day during cold weather to catch more food. However, for your best chance at spotting a barn owl, head out at dusk.
Barn owls have large, black eyes – making it an excellent nocturnal predator with incredible vision.
3. Find their hunting ground
Barn owls live across the UK, preferring to build their nests in open countryside, farmland, along roadside verges, and by canals and rivers. When hunting, barn owls swoop over rough grassland, lowland fields, and hedgerows – home to their favourite food, the vole.
Scan the sheltered sides of fields and canals. If an owl is hunting nearby, make a squeaking noise by kissing the back of your hand. The owl might venture closer to see what's making the noise.
4. Look for their pellets
A tell-tale sign of a barn owl hunting in the area, pellets consist of the undigestible parts of their prey – the fur and bones. Barn owls regurgitate this matter about six hours after feeding. They might produce one or two pellets a night.
Barn owl pellets are relatively large (about 3-7cm), smooth, and round. They are black when fresh and turn grey with age.
While barn owls are known for their silent flight, you can still use your ears to find barn owls. Unlike other owls, barn owls don't hoot. They screech. If you hear their unmistakable high-pitched screech, a barn owl might be hunting nearby.
6. Keep your eyes peeled
They're silent on the wing and fast in flight, but the white plumage of a barn owl means it's not completely hidden from our eyes. It might be a strange colour choice for a nocturnal predator, but it makes spotting the pale shape looming out of the darkness slightly easier.
Two barn owls with heart-shaped faces and white feathers perch on a log by the side of the canal.
Is it rare to see a barn owl?
Fewer barn owls are surviving in the wild, but there are still about 4,000 breeding pairs in the UK. With food sources and habitats shrinking, owls struggle to survive in January and the later winter months.
Our canals are prime feeding areas, providing a highway for owls to safely travel up and down in search of food and shelter.
Where do barn owls live?
As the name indicates, the barn owl nests in barn cavities, buildings, bridges, and tree hollows to shelter from wind and rain. You can find barn owls across the UK, particularly in open countryside, farmland, along roadside verges, and by canal and river habitats.
