We used 4 years of breeding owl survey data (1998 2001) and GIS layers representing topographic, anthropogenic, and vegetation-based landscape characteristics to build logistic regression models of owl nest-site occurrence.
In the southern half of the area a low mountain region reaching a height of 315 m a.s.l., the Teutoburger Wald has harboured more than two pairs of breeding eagle owls since 2003.
If immunity to WNV in this case was acquired, one could expect that northern owl species that spent years at the Owl Foundation would be just as resistant as the locally breeding Eastern Screech Owls.
2014 was an excellent year seeing more barn owls breeding and also having bigger broods.
Male owls breeding in areas with low forest cover, and those raising large broods, also exhibited higher levels of chronic stress, as measured by heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios.
For that period in the central plot, the only predictor of goshawk reproductive success was the presence of an eagle owl breeding pair within 1.5 km (Figure 1A, eagle owl within 1.5 km χ2 = 9.91, p = 0.002, model weight = 0.87).
The second best model contained the marginally significant occurrence of an eagle owl breeding pair within 1.5 km of the buzzard nest (Figure 1C, eagle owl within 1.5 km χ2 = 3.23, p = 0.071, model weight = 0.189).
Then in the central plot, brood failure was predicted by the presence of an eagle owl breeding pair within 1.5 km and marginally by goshawk NND (Figure 1B, eagle owl within 1.5 km χ2 = 7.22, p = 0.007, NND χ2 = 3.31, p = 0.069, model weight = 0.51).
The Barn Owl Trust said a run of extreme weather events since 2009 had devastated the species' UK population and led to the worst barn owl breeding season for more than 30 years.
