Saving barn owls along roads

This video is about saving barn owls‘ lives in the Netherlands along roads.

Translated from Nadja Jansma of BirdLife in the Netherlands:

Tuesday, December 16th, 2014

Highways are a major cause of death among barn owls. They like to hunt in the broad roadsides where many mice live. The 100 meter markers just along the roads look like an attractive base for hunting. As a test the Barn Owl Foundation Workgroup of the Netherlands has now made 100 meter markers ‘owl unfriendly’ by putting smooth-running rolling devices on top of them. Owls can not sit on that.

As alternative resting places four meter away from the roadway poles three meters high with T-structures have been placed. The intention is that the barn owls will start hunting mice from these poles. They are further away from the road and have a higher ‘starting height’ at take off: that hopefully will save many lives.

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