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Diari Valencià

Bioparc Foundation Reintroduces Barn Owls in Valencia's Peri-urban Areas

This project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, seeks to recover the species, classified as vulnerable in the Valencian Community.

Image of a common barn owl with its distinctive heart-shaped white face, perched on a branch at dusk, with a blurred background of peri-urban Valencia rooftops and trees.
IA

Image of a common barn owl with its distinctive heart-shaped white face, perched on a branch at dusk, with a blurred background of peri-urban Valencia rooftops and trees.

The Bioparc Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, has launched a project to reintroduce the common barn owl into peri-urban areas of Valencia, aiming to protect this vulnerable species and restore ecological balance.

Biodiversity loss represents one of the major environmental challenges of our time. To address this situation, collaboration between institutions committed to nature preservation is fundamental. In this context, the Bioparc Foundation and the Ministry of Environment, Infrastructure, Territory and Recovery of the Generalitat Valenciana are working together on an agreement for the protection of threatened native species.
This agreement includes species such as the Iberian ribbed newt, the European pond turtle, the bat, and now, the common barn owl (Tyto alba), all essential for Mediterranean ecosystems. Currently, the project involves five pairs of these fascinating birds, which have been cared for over eight months by technical staff at Bioparc Valencia in facilities designed to ensure their well-being and proper breeding development.
The twenty chicks born this season have begun the final phase of their development using the hacking technique. This technique involves using specially adapted nest boxes to facilitate reintroduction, avoiding human contact so that the animals acquire their natural behaviors essential for survival. The facility features a video surveillance system that allows constant monitoring without interfering with the owls' behavior.
The common barn owl, with its unmistakable heart-shaped white face and silent flight, is an indicator of environmental quality. It plays an essential role in ecosystem balance, acting as a natural pest controller, as an adult specimen is estimated to consume around 1,000 rodents per year. This advancement marks a milestone in the recovery of this bird, classified as “Vulnerable” in the Valencian Community according to the Valencian Catalogue of Threatened Fauna Species.
Its worrying situation is mainly due to agricultural transformation, increased use of biocides, lack of suitable nesting sites, and road accidents. The Bioparc Foundation promotes these actions, which also serve as educational platforms for society, offering the opportunity to better understand our biodiversity and the need to protect nature.

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