Occurrences

County Name	Number of Occurrences	Year Last Observed
Lapeer	1	1978
Monroe	4	1982

Updated 05/08/2013. Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.

Natural Community Types

• Lakeplain wet prairie
• Lakeplain wet-mesic prairie
• Wet prairie
• Wet-mesic sand prairie
• Dry sand prairie
• Mesic prairie
• Coastal plain marsh
• Emergent marsh
• Great lakes marsh
• Lakeplain oak openings
• Bur oak plains
• Oak barrens
• Oak openings

Management

The conversion of most agricultural systems from pasture-based to intensive row crop along with rodenticides have played a significant role in the population decline. Barn owls should benefit from programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that preserve open grassy areas and crop rotations that include a fallow period. A major goal of roadside management should be to neither significantly reduces prey availability nor attracts owls to the road where they may be struck by vehicles. Nest box programs have been successful in assisting the recovery of Barn owls in other parts of their range.

Active Period

Nesting from first week of April to fourth week of July

Survey Methods

Barn owls are resident and may be found throughout the year; however, they are best surveyed for during the early nesting period using call playback at night. The call should be played at or near suitable habitat and may be conducted from the road shoulder. Thirty seconds of calls should be alternated with 30 seconds of silence over a 2 to 5 minute period. Several surveys no less than 10 days apart are recommended at each site to verify presence/absence of the Barn owl.

• Call playback during nesting
  • Survey Period: From first week of April to fourth week of June
    • Time: Night

Page Citation

References

Survey References

• Bibby, C.J., N.D. Burgess, and D.A. Hill. 1992. Bird Census Techniques. Academic Press, New York.

Technical References

• Evers, D.C. 1994. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of Michigan. The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 412pp.

• Johnsgard, P.A. 1988. North American Owls. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C. 352pp.

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