Endangered barn owl makes ‘extremely rare’ sighting in Calgary

As a wildlife photographer, Brendan Clarke sees his fair share of owls, but a recent sighting left him speechless.

“I just thought my mind was playing tricks on me,” Clark said. “I saw the barn owl’s black eyes and beak. I couldn’t believe it.”

The barn owl is not native to Alberta and is rarely seen anywhere in Canada, save far away from the bird’s natural Canadian range, which is small parts of Ontario and British Columbia.

Clark was looking for long-eared owls, a bird considered relatively common in Alberta, in a southeast Calgary park on Nov. 20 when some high-pitched crows alerted him to the presence of the very rare species.

“When he looked at me, it was like a movie,” Clark said. “It was very surreal.”

He was able to get a few shots of the skittish bird, which was at the top of his wildlife photography bucket list, before it took off. He hasn’t seen it since.

Calgary wildlife photographer Janil Moder also spotted the bird at a different time that day.

“To see it here is a once-in-a-lifetime moment,” Moder said.

In Canada, barn owls are only known to nest in small parts of Ontario and British Columbia. A small number of live and dead barn owls have been found in Alberta over the years, but verified reports are few. The first confirmed sighting of a live barn owl in the province was in December 1999, northeast of Red Deer.

Barn owls are not found naturally in or near the prairie provinces, where their poor tolerance to low temperatures means they will not survive long during the winter.

The owl’s heart-shaped face collects sound and allows the bird to locate prey at night, making it an effective nocturnal hunter.

But being a night owl, seeing this bird is not so rare.

Iconic owls are considered endangered in Canada

barn owls join northern spotted owl And burrowing owls As one of three owls recognized as an endangered species by the Government of Canada. Habitat loss due to urbanization and increasing agriculture is considered the primary threat to the birds.

The conservation status of the barn owl in Canada is divided into two classifications: the western population limited to the southwestern part of British Columbia is listed as threatened, while the eastern population in Ontario is considered endangered.

NatureCounts, a biodiversity data platform run by Birds Canada, estimates there are 650 barn owls left in the country.

Colin Weir, managing director of the Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation, said it is “extremely rare” to see a barn owl anywhere in the province. The centre, which cares for injured birds of prey from across Canada, has taken in only two wild barn owls in the past 40 years, he said.

Barn owls are not considered a migratory species, meaning it is unusual for them to travel so far outside their natural range. Weir said sightings of barn owls in Alberta are rarely reported, with many reports considered simply cases of mistaken identity.

“They’re usually young great horned owls rather than barn owls, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they could look like that.”

When it comes to habitat, barn owls live up to their name: They nest in old structures. Weir said demolition of buildings and replacing them with new buildings is one of the causes of habitat loss for endangered birds.

Weir said barn owls don’t have to contend with habitat destruction as much in Europe, where the old architecture they like to nest in is often preserved intact.

“In Europe, they are known as graveyard owls, or churchyard owls, and they are quite common in churches and cemeteries.”