Barn Owl Sharing With Doves ?

I walk past a barn most days that is close to a public footpath.  A few months ago I noticed a Barn Owl going in and out of a small entrance. The barn was then taken over by white doves, so I assumed the barn owl had moved on to somewhere quieter.

Yesterday I noticed one of the doves standing in front of the entrance, before stepping out of the way, to allow the barn owl out. And a few minutes later back in again.

Is it usual for barn owls to share accomodation like this ?

  • I don't know about usual but they aren't really competitors and neither are they predator and prey so there really isn't any reason why they couldn't co-exist reasonably free of aggravation.
  • Unknown said:
    there really isn't any reason why they couldn't co-exist reasonably free of aggravation.

    Apart from the unsocial hours the owl keeps. I guess as long as they are mutually respectful of eachothers need to sleep it could work!

  • Some nest boxes are built with two floors and it is not unusual for Barn Owls to nest on one level and for Kestrels to nest on the other. I also have heard of one instance (in a lecture by a Kestrel expert) when a Barn Owl pair and a Kestrel pair nested in the very same nest box with their nests only inches apart and with no problems. So I see no difficulty with Barn Owls and Doves nesting in the same barn.