Barking owls - barking up the right tree in the Pilliga forests

The Pilliga State Forests near Baradine in the north west of NSW are the stronghold for the barking owl, according to the latest research by Industry & Investment NSW.

The barking owl has an unmistakable dog-like ‘wook-wook’ territorial call, which it repeats.

Dr Rod Kavanagh and ecologist Matthew Stanton have been researching the birds since 2003.

“The Pilliga forests have been shown to be home to an estimated 200 adults,” Dr Rod Kavanagh said.

“The good news is that our research has provided a measure of confidence that current cypress pine harvesting in the Pilliga forests is not a major concern in the conservation of this species.

“This research program, at a cost of about $100,000, has allowed cypress pine logging to continue, which delivers termite-resistant building products and annual royalties to NSW taxpayers which last financial year totalled $2.75 million.

“All of the study areas had been selectively logged more than once.

“The recent re-allocation of more than half of the public forest lands in the Pilliga to nature conservation has provided additional security for owl conservation.

“At present, breeding success appears adequate for the barking owls to continue to live in their existing territories.”

The researchers, from the I&I Forest Science Centre, investigated the ecological requirements of the owls in terms of their roosting, nesting and foraging behaviour, reproductive success, and spatial use of different vegetation types and disturbance history.

They found that barking owl home-ranges in the Pilliga averaged about 2,000 hectares.

“The owls displayed no preference for or against any of the commonly occurring forest vegetation types within their home-ranges for foraging,” Dr Kavanagh said.

“This research has also shown the importance of identifying nest sites and breeding roost sites for the owls and protecting these relatively small areas of around 15 hectares from further disturbance.

Nest trees are usually located within forest stands that are less disturbed and nest-hollows are located in large old eucalypts, usually red gums and narrow-leaved ironbarks, but also in large, dead ringbarked trees.

Barking owl diets in the Pilliga consisted of a wide range of native prey items, mostly birds, insects and some mammals.

Media note: audio of the Barking Owl is available

Further reading

Barking Owl - profile (www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au)

Rod Kavanagh staff profile