Barn Owls in Montana

Biologist Denver Holt of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Montana reports that the first record of nesting in the state was in 1992, a surprisingly recent occurrence. Recently a number of nests have been discovered in the Mission Valley at an elevation of 3000 feet, where fertile soils, pasture, cattle, crops, and a national wildlife refuge contribute to good habitat. Here they nest in natural holes and juniper root systems in the clay cliffs.

The bird is most populous in the Mission Valley that lies within the Mission Mountains, with good possibilities in the Bitter Root Valley, and

then scattered in the rest of the state. It may be that other good populations in other parts of the state remain to be discovered, especially in agricultural areas at lower elevations. Although some authorities have cautiously called the barn owl a “rare visitor” to the state, it is clear that the barn owl breeds in the state, with successful breeding pairs in years without heavy snowfalls, and populations nearly wiped out during the worst winters, only to recolonize in subsequent seasons.

The large amounts of pasture, hay, and grasslands provide very adequate hunting, but the northern latitude tends to regulate numbers by severe winters. Undoubtedly the occurrences are scattered, and low in number in most areas. Yet the bird has been recorded year round.