Taped Screech : Search for Endangered Owl Pushed

Armed with tape recordings of its screech, naturalists are trying to attract the attention of the elusive barn owl, which recently was placed on Ohio’s list of endangered species.

Geauga County Park District naturalists began in early August to comb back roads and old barns in the county for signs of the monkey-faced owl, whose numbers have been declining in northeast Ohio since the 1930s.

The barn owls, so named because they often nest in barns, prey on field mice and other rodents.

They migrated into the area from the south in the 1860s. Park district naturalist Dan Best said the barn owls’ hunting ground has diminished because of expanding home construction and the conversion of hayfields and pasture into growing areas for row crops.

An Occasional Snowy Owl

Best said the great horned owl, tiny saw-whet owl and even an occasional snowy owl blown inland off Lake Erie are more common than the barn owl in northeast Ohio.

He said residents have reported sightings of barn owls in southwest Geauga County, where Amish people still use horses to plow their fields in an area removed from suburban sprawl.

“We still have an area in our county with a lot of hayfields and pasture that provides good habitat for barn owls’ prey,” he said.

Best has posted signs around the county saying, “Wanted: The Known Whereabouts of the Barn Owl Alias: Monkey Face.” The posters have not led Best to any barn owls but have prompted residents to call Best with tales of past sightings.

“We’ve seen barn owls out in the barn in the past three years,” Elizabeth Allyn Hendricks said. But an examination of her barn, which was built in 1850 by her grandfather, revealed only bats.

Elaine Parsons spotted a barn owl in April but hasn’t seen it since.

“It came right toward me and landed in the pine tree,” Parsons said. “Then the blue jays drove it out.”

Genevieve Green, 67, of Hiram Township has seen hawks, herons, and an eagle recently, but it has been five years since she saw a barn owl. She remembers the sighting well.

“I was surprised they were out in the daytime. They were off the road under a tree,” she said.

Best said he will continue to distribute the posters and track down tales of the owls’ whereabouts.

“We might find one, we might not,” he said.