MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports a rare barn owl nest was documented in Wisconsin for the first time in more than 20 years.
The nest was spotted in September after a young barn owl fell out of a dead tree in a La Crosse resident’s backyard and was picked up by the Coulee Region Humane Society from Onalaska.
Karla Bloem, executive director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota visited the site to investigate. Bloem put a camera scope into the tree cavity and found a pair of barn owls and three owlets.
In early October, the young owl was returned to the nest in healthy condition. The adults and their young remained near the nest site at least through the end of the month.
“This is an exciting development for Wisconsin as this nest could have easily gone undetected,” said Ryan Brady, DNR Conservation Biologist and Bird Monitoring Coordinator. “Kudos to the staff at Coulee Region Humane, Karla from the International Owl Center for diligent follow-up and the homeowners who provided a habitat to foster this historic nest!”
Although there’s been an uptick in barn owl sightings in Wisconsin and other Upper Midwestern states, and has been speculated that a few may be nesting now in southern Wisconsin, this is the first time in more than two decades a nest has been confirmed.
Barn owls typically nest and roost in tree cavities, abandoned barns and buildings. They require large areas of open land to hunt and can be spotted flying low at night, hunting small rodents mostly by sound.
Barn owls can be identified by their iconic, white heart-shaped face, which lacks the ear tufts seen in other familiar owls. Their head, back and upper wings are a mix of buff and
