The American barn owl (Tyto furcata) is a medium-sized raptor commonly found in agricultural landscapes where it uses nest boxes for reproduction and serves as a focal species for integrated pest management. Barn owl research in agroecosystems has focused on nest box occupancy metrics, prey and habitat selection. However, further research is needed to understand foraging habitat selection at fine spatial and temporal scales. To further advance our understanding of habitat use, we deployed GPS-loggers (1-Hz) equipped with accelerometers (50-Hz) on adult nesting owls (n=26) to track foraging behavior during the breeding season in vineyards in San Luis Obispo, California. We used a combination of fine-scale positioning and behavioral data to identify foraging flights and strike locations. We conducted microhabitat surveys at strike locations, used, and available points to evaluate the influence of habitat composition on foraging habitat selection. Preliminarily, barn owls appeared to strike areas with lower crop height, but greater understory percent cover. These results can help winegrowers understand how barn owls use vineyard landscapes during the breeding season and also advance our knowledge on foraging behavior at fine spatial and temporal scales.

Kevin is a second-year master student in Dr. Tim Bean’s Spatial Wildlife Ecology Lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is currently investigating the influence of habitat structure on the foraging behavior of Barn Owls across vineyard habitat. He graduated from Humboldt State University with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management and conservation. Prior to starting graduate school, he conducted occupancy and reproduction surveys for Spotted Owl in the Sierras, and he banded songbirds and owls in California, Idaho, and Minnesota.