Barn owl spotted on London’s Hampstead Heath for the first time since 1946

Barn owls are known for their distinct white and blonde feathers as well as their huge 85-centimetre (33-inch) wingspan.

Matt Evans spotted the rare bird on Tuesday morning (June 13), while other sightings have also been reported.

“It is an important sighting,” Pete Mantle, a member of the Heath and Hampstead Society’s Heath committee, told the Camden New Journal.

“Barn owl numbers in the UK are currently at around 9,000, and that is not many. Since the end of the Second World War, their numbers have dropped significantly.”

Mr Mantel saw the bird after being tipped off by a friend. Another birdwatcher, Reuben Braddock, posted a photo.

He tweeted: “Usually not much to report on Hampstead Heath in June but today was different — the first Barn Owl since WWII! Epic find by one of our local birders this morning. Photo taken this evening before dusk.”

Owls are less commonly sighted these days due to urban sprawl and building destroying their habitat. Traffic and transport can also pose a danger and risk to the fledgling birds.

Mr Mantel added: “Sadly, barn owls also have a low survival rate for the young. Around half do not make it past two years.

“There is a lack of land for them to hunt, and if you get a cold or wet winter it makes survival even harder.”

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says barn owls eat mice and voles as well as small birds. They can weigh up to 350 grams.

“With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird,” the RSPB website states.

“Widely distributed across the UK, and indeed the world, this bird has suffered declines through the 20th century and is thought to have been adversely affected by organochlorine pesticides such as DDT [dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane] in the 1950s and ‘60s.”