The Barn Owl

Tony Johnston's THE BARN OWLS recalls in quiet tones the memory of a barn that has stood alone in a wheat field for one hundred years at least. The owls have nested there and have hunted in the fields and circled in the night skies as time slowly slipped by. Every night, as the moon rises, a barn owl awakens and flies out to hunt. Feathered against the endless starry night, he swoops and sails to the darkened wheat field below and catches a mouse in his nimble talons. With outstretched wings, this barn owl returns to his barn nest and his hungry family, repeating the ageless ritual his ancestors have practiced here, in this barn, for at least one hundred years. Following the life cycle of the barn owl, this gentle poem evokes a sense of warm sunshine and envelopes readers with the memory of the scent of a wheat field.

A comprehensive handbook covering all aspects of the conservation of Barn Owls. Written by the Barn Owl Trust, this book includes in-depth information on Barn Owl survey techniques, relevant ecology, Barn Owls and the law, mortality, habitat management, use of nest boxes and barn Owl rehabilitation. Essential reading for ecologists, planners, land managers and ornithologists.

Accessible and beautifully illustrated, this book collates global scientific research on the evolution, ecology and behaviour of barn owls and their relatives into a single volume. For researchers in ornithology, animal behaviour, ecology, conservation biology and evolutionary biology, it will also appeal to amateurs interested in barn owls.

The barn owl is a powerful predator with a critical role in rodent control, and it is in dire danger from rodent poisons, lack of nesting sites and human encroachment. This text renders an informative portrait of this endangered bird and covers the survival of barn owls, their biology and behavior, courtship and reproduction, life cycle, how and what they hunt, social interaction, and conservation--

In the classic monograph mould, this study of Tyto alba is the product of almost 40 years field work by its authors and complementary observations by other dedicated ornithologists in Britain, the USA and Europe. The result is a detailed, balanced account based on intimate knowledge of the Barn Owl in varying habitats in Britain, comparing, as appropriate, this race's behaviour with that of sub-species in other areas of the world. There are major chapters on breeding and general behaviour, feeding, distribution, etc, but voice is rightly given a full treatment. The text is graced by Ian Willis's fine drawings and there are 31 photographs plus a colour frontispiece.

The little girl in this book has never seen a barn owl, but when her grandpa puts a nest-box high in the old oak tree, they wait and they wait until one spring night, just as the sky goes pink, a pale face looks out of it, then takes off towards them.

The sight of a ghostly barn owl quartering a field at dusk is not one that is easily forgotten, but the day-to-day lives of these captivating birds are little known to most people. This book introduces the reader to some of the most fascinating aspects of a remarkable nocturnal existence.

At the Leave the Nest Fall Fest, Berkeley and her fellow friends dance the night away, but when the next moonrise comes, she, along with her fellow fledglings, must leave home and, despite their fears, find a new place to dance!