Helping Little Owl numbers get bigger

Although a widespread species with a range extending from Europe to China and Africa, the Little Owl Athene noctua is a species that is widely in decline. This is particularly the case in the Czech Republic where the decline has been both rapid and marked.

Sounding out the numbers

Making nest boxes for Little Owls

With the cooperation of other ornithological groups, A Rocha Czech has been monitoring an area of some 200 square kilometres near Nachod in East Bohemia for Little Owls. This is done by playing recordings of the bird's call and listening for responses. Ten years ago, this area held 10 pairs of Little Owls but in spring 2003, although other owl species (Barn Owl Tyto alba, Long-eared Owl Asio otus and Tawny Owl Strix aluco) were present, not a single Little Owl was heard. The nearest known pair of Little Owls is now 35 km from the study area.

The reasons for this dramatic loss in Little Owl numbers are unclear but a chief cause is probably predation and the loss of nesting habitat. Although the Little Owl will nest in other settings, it normally nests in trees and its preferred nest site is old orchards. However, over the last 50 years, it was common for orchards that were no longer economically valuable to be removed while many of the large properties and barns that provided alternative nesting sites were also lost. The loss of the best nesting sites has made these birds vulnerable to predation, particularly from the Beech Marten Martes foina which is abundant in Czech villages.

Making new nests

In order to help Little Owls breed more successfully, a special nest box has been designed with two compartments that reduce losses from predation. A small grant has been provided by the Czech government to cover the cost of materials and so far 25 boxes have been produced to this specification. The fact that there now appear to be few, if any, Little Owls in the Nachod area has however slowed down the program to erect these nest boxes here. One possibility that is being explored is that of releasing captive Little Owls into the area as there are at least two bird rescue centres in Eastern Bohemia that are breeding Little Owls in captivity. Nevertheless, it will take several years to build up enough stock to make this viable and appropriate permission from the authorities would also need to be sought.

In the A Rocha Czech study area in South Bohemia the situation is a little brighter as two pairs of Little Owls have been found. Nevertheless, monitoring has shown that here too there has been a considerable decline in numbers over the last decade. Little Owl nest boxes have been constructed and erected in suitable sites in this area as well.

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Details of the A Rocha work with the Little Owl in the Czech Republic can be had from czech@arocha.org .