Although the national population is low, East Anglia has a higher density of these birds than most other areas and, as a result, the Trust receives a larger than normal number of these birds each year.

Barn owls are most often seen at dusk, hunting along roadside verges. Inevitably, they suffer a high rate of collision with the traffic – largely because they are very lightly built and tend to be sucked into the slipstream of passing vehicles and either dashed into the road or are hit by the following traffic.

The lightweight nature of the bird also means that they suffer more severe injuries than their more sturdy tawny owl cousins.

Unfortunately, barn owls do not respond well to treatment, often seeming to have lost the will to live. The Trust has treated 35 barn owls, only 9 of which have been released. This is well below our normal success rate with other species but compares well with the results from other rehabilitation groups working with these birds.