Wildlife conservation project: Protection of the
Little Owl biotope
Paderborner Land North-Rhine Westphalia

Pollard trees for small owls

The Little Owl was revered as a bird of wisdom in ancient Greece. It was considered a symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and bears her name in its scientific designation Athene noctua.

With a body length of at most 25 cm, the Little Owl is one of our smallest domestic owls. Only the Pygmy Owl is smaller. In contrast to other owls of the same species, the Little Owl can, with luck, also be seen during the day. When foraging for food on mown or grazed meadows, it hunts its prey, beetles or mice, by running fast or hopping on the ground.

Unfortunately, the Little Owl's only permanent place is on the German Red List, where it is listed as "threatened". There are only about 6,000 breeding pairs left in Germany, and we have searched in vain for this little owlet in several federal states! With around 4,500 (75%) Little Owl breeding pairs, the lion's share is in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Of these, some 300 breeding pairs are still resident in the Paderborn region.

Threat factors

As is so often the case, man has robbed this small diurnal of its traditional habitat. Almost 95% of the old meadow orchards and well-structured cottage gardens were destroyed in Germany to make place for new buildings and village and town expansion. It takes decades for the few newly planted meadow orchards to become a suitable survival space for the Little Owl.

The massive disappearance of pollarded willows from the agricultural countryside began with the end of their economic use for basket weaving. Tens of thousands of pollarded willows along the dirt roads, damp ditches and streams were cleared, and the old cavernous, pollarded willows still existing today are increasingly threatened by wind damage and decay! The constantly growing branches of this softwood tree species break deep down into the trunk during storms and also under their own weight - this means that more and more old pollarded willows are lost as nesting/breeding places and as habitat for our Little Owls and thousands of insect species. Replacement plantings take decades to mature before they are suitable as Little Owl habitat!

The reasons for and aims of conservation

Pollard willows, as natural elements characterising the landscape, are not only ecologically valuable small biotopes but also important stepping-stones, resting and feeding places for a large variety of wild birds, mammals and insect species in the increasingly cleared agricultural countryside.

Preserving the few pollard willows that still exist through professional pruning and - wherever possible in consultation with landowners - the planting of new willows is one of the most effective conservation measures for the Little Owl, now and in the future.

Our project commitment

Our Foundation has been caring for the irreplaceable and valuable Little Owl habitat in Paderborner Land since 2005. In addition to the purchase of old meadow orchards and the replanting of high-stem fruit trees of old regional varieties, we professionally prune mature willow trees into the pollard form with the assistance of qualified tree maintenance firms. This is done with the written consent of the landowner and a guarantee of continuity. We plant new willow trees distant from roads and country lanes using arm-thick willow sticks up to 2,50 m long and build special marten-proof Little Owl breeding tubes in suitable old willow and fruit trees.

In this way, we preserve the valuable habitat in Paderborner Land, which has long since disappeared elsewhere, for the Little Owl and hundreds of other bird, mammal and insect species for decades to come.

Please help us with your dedicated donation. The professional pruning of a willow tree costs between 25 and 80 euros, depending on the age and size of the tree crown. The professional setting of new willow sticks to compensate for cleared pollarded willows costs us up to 50 euros including travel.