On the look out for barn owls

Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust wants the information as part of the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Project which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The trust wants to hear from anyone who has seen or heard a barn owl recently, or knows where they might have nested this summer.

The data will help conservationists work out the population of the iconic bird in the area to the north west of the city which extends from Langsett Reservoir and Underbank Reservoir south to Redmire Reservoirs and includes Stocksbridge, Bradfield and Walkley.

Nicki Dyas, nature recovery officer at the trust, said “As a bird of the open countryside, the best place to see a barn owl is hunting along the edges of fields at dusk.

“We are hoping that people will share their sightings with us so that we can help protect these beautiful birds within Sheffield’s Lakelands.”

Any sightings of barn owls, with details of where and when you saw them, should be emailed to Nicki Dyas at [email protected].

Barn owl records will be submitted to the Wildlife Trust Nature Counts database.