In Michigan, a barn owl breeding pair has not been sighted in the state since 1982.

Michigan is home to a brilliant array of wildlife. While the state has suffered ecologically over the years, conservation efforts have brought back native species, such as the beaver. Once extirpated, or locally extinct, from Michigan due to the fur trade and habitat loss, beaver populations have been on the steady rise since 2008 through reintroduction efforts and conservation surveys.

Additionally, the Department of Natural Resources has passed laws illegalizing the fishing of sturgeon, once a critically endangered native species in Michigan. Since then, while the species holds a threatened conservation status, population sizes have grown every year.

The Blanding’s turtle and the prairie vole are other endangered Michigan-native species being researched. Habitat restoration, invasive species management, and limits on residential mowing are just a few examples of efforts being made to protect these species.

The same efforts cannot be counted for the American barn owl (Tyto furcata).

Joy Funk, a naturalist at the Outdoor Discovery Center in Holland, Michigan, works closely with an imprinted European barn owl who serves as ODC’s ambassador. Funk explained how habitat loss is a major factor in the extirpation of barn owls in Michigan, and in their being considered threatened in a state like Ohio, prompting conservation efforts. Barn owls prefer hunting in large, open fields—their long legs are designed to snatch up prey from these tall grasses.

“Michigan was primarily forest,” Funk explains. “I think [American barn owls] moved in [to Michigan] when they started to cut down the trees.” As farmland replaced woodland, American barn owls found their home, and their namesake, inside barns. Being cavity nesters, barns were the perfect home for this elusive species of owl. “They were really good at living in barns.” Funk shared. “Back then, farmers didn’t have the poison to kill [rodents],” Funk observes. “Farmers liked them because a mated pair [of American barn owls] could eat up to 20 mice per night!” Farmers and barn owls mutually benefited from the presence of the other, respecting each other’s space and needs.

By the 1950s, farmers largely switched over to using commercial “rat poisons.” Rodenticides are poisons used to kill rodents such as mice and voles, which are common prey for barn owls. Farms provide a consistent and concentrated supply of food and shelter, which attracts rodents. Farmers use rodenticides to protect their crops. Poisoned, lethargic rodents are easier to catch by birds of prey.

“Barn owls will catch those [poisoned] mice and eat them, then they will be poisoned [too],” Funk explained. Rodenticide affects the entire food chain, upsetting the balance and taking over the job that predators, like the barn owl, are designed for. The American barn owl serves as nature’s pesticide—human-made pesticides kill both the rodents and the predators that rely on them. The common, widespread use of rodenticide is another major factor in the extirpation of barn owls in Michigan.

There are currently no laws limiting the use of rodenticide. Funk expressed, “We wish [the practice] was illegal. [We] want to save the owls.”

It is important to note that unregulated rodenticide usage is not only harmful to predator species but also difficult to monitor. Additionally, it is still legal in Michigan to fur-trap and hunt “nuisance animals” without a hunting permit.

Funk further emphasized how Michigan’s wetlands and woodlands never made the best environment for American barn owls, adding that their populations likely did not exceed the thousands. However, as Michigan’s agricultural land has grown, barn owls are more than fit to fill the new roles that farmland has created, such as culling the overpopulation of mice.

Despite this, reintroducing barn owls into Michigan would be, as Funk puts it, “very costly.” Barn owls fit into Michigan’s modern landscape and could replace rodenticide if given the proper care and monitoring. According to Funk, obtaining state funding for such a cause has proven to be a mountain to climb.

Jim Nemet, the director of the Wildlife Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, plays a major role in Ohio, educating the public on the state’s wildlife and caring for animals at the museum that cannot be released back into the wild. Nemet explained that in 1964, Ohio established reintroduction for the American barn owl and subsequently released 260 barn owls across New York and Ohio. Barn owl chicks were released throughout Ohio, where they naturally found nests.

In 1988, the state of Ohio counted 19 breeding pair nests. By 2012, the state reported over 100 nesting pairs across Ohio. In 2019, the barn owl nesting pair count decreased to 61 total known nests in 31 townships across Ohio. Nemet observed, “The numbers are still going down.” He continued, “So, we have made an effort over the years, but it seems like it’s gotten more expensive. There are a lot of different priorities from the wildlife community that the barn owls have kind of taken a backseat.”

Nemet added that community efforts, like the Barn Owl Box Company, had a positive impact on barn owl populations, as well. The company makes barn owl nest boxes for community members to install. Additionally, they provide blueprints to make safe nest boxes at home. However, there has been a lack of information on population statistics produced by the company since 2019.

“There was a very fine effort.” Nemet expressed. “But it seems to have kind of faded away.”

The reduced conservation efforts, paired with continual habitat destruction, have made saving the American barn owl in the Midwest difficult. Nemet said that having a barn in the 60s and 70s was commonplace in Ohio, but now, “everywhere that there used to be a barn, there’s 100 houses.”

Nemet continued, “With the loss of farms and open fields, you have less of those prey species running around. So, [barn owls] are going to move to where the food would be more prevalent.”

Barn owls have been a mistaken source of fear. Barn owls do not “who” but screech loudly. At times, this startling vocalization would alarm farmers into thinking barn owls were dangerous animals—a predator preying upon livestock. Especially because these occurrences would happen at night, a barn owl’s pale white feathers paired with its silent flight would be a haunting sight to witness. Such reasons are why barn owls are given the nickname “ghost owl.” Due to this misplaced fear, many barn owls were shot and killed by farmers.

“As far as barn owls, there really are no predators out there,” Nemet stated. “Possibly a great horned owl that’s bigger than them, but the barn owl is very dexterous and able to fly well, so that’s probably not a big issue.” Nemet says, “Human issues are mostly their challenges.”

Despite the American barn owl having a persistent decline in population numbers since initial conservation efforts in Ohio, wildlife biologists have laid out clear goals. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has a goal to achieve 100 nesting pairs across 40 or more townships. Currently, wildlife biologists and community members are monitoring the existing 61 nesting pairs residing in Ohio.

Organizations like ODNR, The Wilds, and the Central Ohio Owl Project conduct banding efforts to collect this data. Bird banding is a method used to safely track bird populations that involves capturing the bird, placing a uniquely colored and numbered metal band on its leg, and then releasing it back into the wild.

Additionally, educating the public on barn owls is invaluable. In Ohio, the public is encouraged to report barn owl sightings and install their own nest boxes to monitor. Nest box monitoring and management is a crucial effort in providing safe nesting places for barn owls. Townships with 25 percent grass coverage were identified in 2006, which is the best habitat barn owls can find in the state. As of 2019, 93.8 percent of targeted townships had nesting boxes.

Nemet offered a way to reintroduce barn owls to Michigan, saying, “[Someone] could purchase 3 dozen barn owls from the state of Ohio, or the state of New York, and bring them somewhere into Michigan where they think the habitat would be [best suited].” He emphasized, “Of course, with the state’s and federal government’s permission.” Since barn owls are migratory birds, federal permission is required to reintroduce them from state to state.

Nemet said, “You’d have to get all the ducks in a row. You could do all the research you want, but none of it’s really free. That would be one of the challenges, is to educate people, but also find some sort of funding [for the barn owls reintroduction and nesting box management].”

With recent conservation efforts being made for Michigan’s prairie vole in the early 2020s, the reintroduction of barn owls could be mutually beneficial between species. Cutting down on rodenticide use would most likely bolster prairie vole population numbers, providing ample prey for barn owls and benefiting farmers throughout Michigan. Across the globe, the American barn owl holds a least concern conservation status.

However, across the Midwest, the barn owl consistently holds a threatened, endangered, or—in Michigan’s case—extirpated status.