The project is being implemented by the NGO Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds.
The conservation project “Promoting the Conservation of the Nesting Population of the Siberian Owl in Ukraine” is being implemented in Lviv Oblast with the financial support of the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU).
In Ukraine, the barn owl is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (2009) and is currently found in Zakarpattia and southern Ukraine – Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. But a century ago, the owl’s nesting area was much wider and included the western and central regions of our country.
The purpose of this project in Lviv oblast is to attract barn owls to nest from the territories of Poland adjacent to Ukraine. The size of the Polish population is estimated at 2500 nesting pairs (2020). In the Lubelskie Voivodeship adjacent to Ukraine, 150-200 pairs nest. Young barn owls from Poland probably fly into the adjacent territory of our country every year, but do not stay due to the lack of favorable nesting sites.
“The Barn Owl is a Red Data Book species with an endangered status, which means that it is a species that is endangered in the wild and whose preservation is unlikely unless the factors that negatively affect the state of the population are eliminated. With this in mind, we have high hopes that the implementation of project activities, including the installation of artificial nest boxes at selected locations, will contribute to the restoration of its population. The Department will join the project and hopes for cooperation and understanding from local communities,” said Oksana Viytyk, Acting Director of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
As part of the project, ornithological experts are scheduled to visit Yavoriv, Lviv, and Chervonohrad districts along the border with Poland to select potentially attractive nesting sites for the bird.