'Loneliest owl' keeps calling for a mate

An owl whose calls for a new mate have gone unanswered has been dubbed the "UK's loneliest owl" by an agricultural charity.

The male little owl, which lives on Woodoaks Farm near Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, close to the M25, has been calling out several times a day.

"It is devastating to see him all alone calling out from his perch day after day, but getting no response," said Rose Lewis, who leads the team at the farm on behalf of the Soil Association.

The little owl species has been in decline by nearly 25% since 1995 and the charity said this case highlights "the fragility of his species".

The Woodoaks owl has been calling out following the loss of two mates and their owlets since 2020.

His first mate died after being caught on a barbed wire fence, whilst the death of the second was unexplained.

"We're surrounded by quite urban centres so we're a little isolated island - so the little owl calling and calling and calling earlier this year – there's no other owl that could hear because of the noise and disconnection," Ms Lewis added.

Liam Edwards, co-founder of L&L Wildlife Monitoring, said: "We're already seeing numbers decline in the Royal Parks because of the numbers of jackdaws and parakeets.

"Anything we can do in order to help working with landowners, working with farmers, creating those homes and habitats, hopefully those numbers will be up on the rise."

Woodoaks Farm was donated to the Soil Association by Sally Findlay in 2020, and the charity has been working to create habitats and convert it to fully organic status.

It wants to raise £2.5m to help protect the wildlife at the farm and build an education hub.

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