A show of companionship and survival will play out live before the public in a DNR webcam that offers a peek into the lives of a barn owl pair raising chicks. The webcam is at wildlife.IN.gov/8183.htm.
Barn owls are a state-endangered species. The pair on this webcam has been living in a DNR-built nest box inside a metal pole barn in southern Indiana since 2009. These owls have nested every year since 2009.
Barn owls lay their eggs in April, with hatching occurring sometime in May.
In 2013, this nest was one of only 18 known barn owl nests in the state.
The goal of the webcam is to promote public interest in birds and raise awareness about efforts to support barn owls.
Information on barn owls and how to help them is at wildlife.IN.gov/3382.htm.
Barn owls are known for their distinctive heart-shaped face, dark eyes and white to golden-brown feathers. They were once common in the Midwest, living in hollow trees and wooden barns, and hunting hayfields, idle grain fields, pastures and other grasslands for meadow voles. But many wooden barns are being torn down, and few modern farms offer the land a barn owl needs for hunting.
DNR's Wildlife Diversity Program has been placing nest boxes for barn owls since 1984. The nest boxes, like the one the webcam owls use, give owls a safe place to raise their young.
The barn owl webcam can accommodate 20 viewers at a time.
The barn owl is one of more than 750 animal species, including many rare and endangered animals, supported by the DNR's Wildlife Diversity Program. WDP depends on donations to the DNR Nongame Fund. You can donate by credit card on the DNR website, or you can give all or a portion of your State tax return to the fund by marking the appropriate box on your printed Indiana tax form or when you file electronically. On the printed form, look for the bald eagle logo.
Donations can also be made at wildlife.IN.gov/3316.htm.
To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.
Media contact: Michelle Cain, DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife, (317-234-8240, mcain@dnr.IN.gov.
