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October 7, 2026 - Silent Farmhands

Owls, beneficial predators on the homestead.

Accomplished hunters with a short list of natural enemies, owls have a great view from the top of the food chain. Owls can assist with pest problems in the field and on the farm or acreage while contributing diversity to the birds of prey community.

Owls are opportunistic creatures meaning that they are not too picky when it comes to dinner. An owl’s diet can include a variety of creatures such as spiders, earthworms, snails, fish, birds and small mammals. Given the option, different owl species will focus on particular prey. Great Horned owls, for example, target small to medium sized mammals and birds, while smaller owls, such as Northern Saw-whet Owls, primarily feed on mice and voles.

Most owls are nocturnal, which means they are active at night, hunting prey that are also active at this time. Hawks and other birds of prey, such as falcons and eagles, target species that are active during the day (diurnal). While there is some overlap to the species preyed upon, the combination of owls and hawks within the bird community can contribute to around the clock pest control.

What makes owls unique in comparison to other birds of prey is their eye placement. Where most birds have eyes on the sides of their head, giving them a greater field of view, owls have eyes that face forward. This difference gives owls binocular vision (the ability to see an object with both eyes at the same time) and precise depth perception as a result of their ability to see objects in three dimensions.

With enhanced vision comes a highly developed eye structure which inhibits owls from moving or rolling their eyes, allowing them only to see straight ahead. This alone would create several limitations, but an owl’s skeletal system is constructed in a way that allows the bird to turn its head up to 270 degrees from a forward-facing position (left or right), and almost completely upside down.

Owls can hear a range of sounds, but are also able to tune into certain frequencies, such as their prey sneaking through ground cover below. Some owls even have asymmetrical ear openings, giving the nocturnal species an additional advantage in complete darkness. Sound in the left or right ear at different times tells the owl which direction the sound came from, left or right and above or below.

Owls become a triple threat as their flight is silenced by wing feathers structured to muffle the sound of movement in the air. They then have the ability to listen for prey mid-flight as well as sneak up on them.

All birds of prey play an important role in many ecosystems. If there are issues at the top of a food chain, this is often an indication of imbalance down the line.

A cumulative effect is seen when there are impacts to the environment and organisms below birds of prey on the food chain. This effect is exacerbated within the more complicated food web, as caused by human disturbance and contaminants such as persistent organic chemicals, rodenticides, and pesticides.

Throughout the 20th century, there were sharp declines in the number of birds of prey species due to hunting, human disturbance such as land development, and environmental contamination. Entire ecosystems would have been impacted as well. It can happen quickly and it can happen quietly. It can also occur so slowly that we do not notice the ramifications until it is too late.

Increased education and awareness has been a benefit to the recovery of some bird species but there is still room for improvement. It is important to keep in mind that nature is a series of interconnected webs and is never isolated.

Owls are truly the farm’s silent farmhands, helping control rodent populations while most of us sleep. By supporting healthy owl habitat, landowners can benefit from natural pest control and a more balanced farm ecosystem.