At the May 8 meeting of the Burke Mountain Naturalists, owl expert Sofi Hindmarch will give a slide presentation on the habits, habitats and status of the local population of barn owls.
These owls are at the northern tip of their range in the Lower Mainland, where slightly colder temperatures promote the birds' preference to nest in barns and silos. Although the number of such structures is declining, these owls will readily nest in specially designed nest boxes installed in parks and other green spaces.
But loss of agricultural fields force the birds to hunt along roadside grass verges and medians, where they can be hit by vehicles. And urbanization means barn owls are hunting in closer proximity to sites where rat poison is applied, leading to the risk that the owls are exposed to these chemicals through eating poisoned rodents.
Hindmarch is a scientist with Environment Canada working out of the Delta, where she studies the impacts of habitat loss and rodenticides on urban and rural populations of barn owls and other owl species.
The BMN meeting is free to attend and all are welcome. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday in the hall of Como Lake United Church, on the corner of Marmont Street and King Albert Avenue in Coquitlam. For more information, call 604-936-4108 or 604-461-3864 or visit www.bmn.bc.ca.
