The disappearance of Barn Owl Tyto alba and Little Owl Athene noctua occurrence sites in farmland in East Poland

Kitowski I., Stasiak K. The disappearance of barn owl Tyto alba and little owl Athene noctua occurrence sites in farmland in East Poland. Ekologia (Bratislava), Vol. 32, No. 4, p. 361-368, 2013.

Complexes of buildings belonging to vast farms, distributed in the form of islands over a landscape of monoculture farming constituted important occurrence sites of the barn owl and the little owl. During 1999-2012, the fate of 59 farms inhabited by the studied species was observed. Both species of owls preferred using three categories of buildings: cowsheds, warehouses and blocks of flats. Cases have been reported of the same building being simultaneously occupied by two species of owls. The study showed that the disappearance of sites of the studied owls is caused by factors connected with the decreasing intensity of farming. The most common of these factors turned out to be demolitions of buildings occupied by owls and the abandonment of animal production. Cases of predation by carnivore mammals were also reported. The process of disappearance of owl sites appears to manifest itself more intensely on those farms where residential and industrial infrastructure occupies a smaller area.