Corrections & uncertainties
How we checked this site, what we got wrong in drafts, and where the sources disagree.
Every fact on this site is stored with its source and a short phrase that must appear in that source. A script re-reads the sources and checks each one. At the last check, 293 facts and species names passed: 271 against full pages or Wikipedia articles, and 22 against search-engine extracts of pages we couldn’t read directly (mostly Manx BirdLife, which blocks automated reading). 10 claims were corrected and 7 were removed.
Sources change. If you spot something out of date, please tell us.
Corrected
“The Isle of Man notably has no tawny owls” (brief)
Only historically true. A 1924 Manx account says tawnies were absent, and the Barn Owl Trust still lists the IoM as an island without them. But Martin & Mikkola (2014) cite breeding on the island, and Manx BirdLife’s birds page says small populations “appear to have become established in recent years”. Meanwhile Manx BirdLife’s own 2021 BoCCIoM lists tawny owl as an occasional breeder with no definite or probable breeding since 2006. The site says “historically absent, now rare and uncertain”, never “none”.
“Owls can turn their heads all the way round / 360°” (popular myth)
Wikipedia gives up to about 270°. Corrected on the anatomy and myths pages.
A single owl species count (draft said “about 250”)
Counts depend on taxonomy. Wikipedia says “over 200” and “220 to 225”; Martin & Mikkola (2014) say over 250, with 100+ awaiting DNA confirmation. The site gives the range and explains why.
Oldest wild barn owl in Britain: 18 years
The Barn Owl Trust says 18 years; BTO’s ringing record is 15 y 3 m 21 d (set 2016). Both shown, labelled by source.
UK little owls: ~6,000 pairs
The Barn Owl Trust gives ~6,000 pairs; BTO gives 3,600 pairs (2016). Both shown, labelled by source.
Tawny owl trend (one number)
RSPB: down >40% (1995–2023). BTO: −39% (1967–2024) in its detail, but its summary box says “Stable”, and BTO notes tawnies are poorly covered by monitoring. All shown with caveats.
Fetlar snowy owls “1967–1975” (Wikipedia)
BTO wording used instead: bred for eight years until 1976, and females summered until 1993.
“The largest owl is Blakiston’s fish owl”
By weight, Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston’s fish owl are joint heaviest (Wikipedia’s owl article); by length, great grey owl is longest. The site says exactly that.
Injured owl: just pick it up
The sources differ. The RSPCA says birds of prey shouldn’t be handled (and warns about bird flu). The Barn Owl Trust gives careful handling guidance for when it is necessary. The site gives the RSPCA view first, then BOT’s method, with a bird-flu caution.
“Barn owls mate for life”
Only found as a newspaper quote. Replaced with BOT’s wording, “incredibly faithful to their mates”.
Removed or not printed
RSPB snowy owl and eagle-owl species pages
The URLs return 404, so no RSPB claims are made for these species; BTO and Wikipedia are used instead.
Helpline numbers for SSPCA (Scotland), USPCA (Northern Ireland) and Manx SPCA
Not verified from a primary page, so none are printed. The site names the organisations and says to check their websites.
RSPB injured/baby-bird advice
The URL redirected to a bird-feeding page and “who should I call” returned 404, so no RSPB rescue advice is quoted.
Hedwig played by several male owls
Not found in a fetched source, so it was dropped.
Manx BirdLife species pages (barn owl, long-eared owl) read directly
These pages are captcha-blocked to automated fetching. Manx facts come from search-engine extracts of the Manx BirdLife site and other sources, each marked “search extract” in the log.
Barn owl reintroduction to the Isle of Man stated as fact
Kept only as a clearly labelled 2019 newspaper quote, since no published study was found.
Specific little-owl nest-box dimensions
Not needed and not verified line by line, so the site links to the Barn Owl Trust plans instead.