The Ghost Owl- Canadian Wildlife Education Series

The Barn Owl is a relatively small owl species that inhabits North America, easily distinguishable by its heart shaped face. Barn Owls are unable to endure cold climates and do not migrate. Their survival is based on finding warm shelter. With keen hearing they locate prey in total darkness. Native American Peoples have referred to the Barn Owl as the "Ghost Owl."

While Barn Owls have customarily resided in barns and primarily feed on rodents, dramatic changes in farming practices have created loss of habitat by eliminating old barns and replacing them with "bird proof barns."  Barn Owls use tree cavities, barns, silos, abandoned buildings and cliff faces as nesting sites. While they do not build nests, they create a base of fur and bones from rodent prey they have eaten. Both parents feed the young.

Barn Owls provide a valuable service to farmers. An owl family will consume more than 3,000 mice during a nesting a season. They hunt at dusk for rodents in old farm fields, tall grass prairies, open grassy areas, ditches and the edge of wetlands. Loss of habitat and food sources have caused this owl to hunt small birds for survival. 

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