Extensive land clearing, along with catastrophic bushfires, has destroyed so much of our Powerful Owls’ habitats. The remaining patches of habitat in urban areas are a critical lifeline for these magnificent birds.
BirdLife Australia’s Urban Birds Program and the Powerful Owl Project are bringing communities together to protect these impressive birds and the wild places they depend upon.
From restoring habitat and protecting centuries-old trees, to training volunteers and working alongside schools, landowners and local groups – this is conservation with people at its heart. It’s about giving owls, and all urban birds, a future.
Because when birds flourish, so do we. Healthy habitats mean cleaner air, greener neighbourhoods and a stronger connection with the natural world around us.
Please donate today to help protect the vital urban habitats that our precious owls need to survive.
can help us upscale critical monitoring and targeted actions for the owls and other birds that need it most.
can help train skilled volunteers to restore and protect crucial habitats for native birds.
can help us engage and collaborate with landholders to manage rural properties to support birds and biodiversity.
can support the most urgent actions needed to save Australian birds facing extinction.
“If we do nothing, Powerful Owls will quietly disappear from our cities and bushland edges.” – Dr Holly Parsons
“If we do nothing, Powerful Owls will quietly disappear from our cities and bushland edges.”
Australia’s owls need you.
Australia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the developed world, with vast areas of native forest lost each year. For the Powerful Owl – Australia’s largest owl – this destruction is devastating. Once widespread across forests and woodlands, these magnificent birds have lost so much of their habitat to land clearing, catastrophic bushfires and urban expansion. Today, they are listed as Vulnerable to extinction.
Remaining patches of habitat in urban areas provide a critical lifeline for these birds, but life in our cities is fraught with danger. Ancient hollow trees are vanishing, leaving few safe places to nest. Roads take a heavy toll. And dangerous rat poisons , still sold on supermarket shelves, inflict a slow and agonising death when our owls eat poisoned prey.
Without action, these wonderful birds will disappear forever.
But there is hope. BirdLife Australia’s Urban Birds Program and the Powerful Owl Project are creating safer spaces where owls and other native birds can thrive alongside us. Our work is grounded in science – and it’s making a difference, but we urgently need to upscale our efforts. This is where you come in!
By donating today, you can help train and support the volunteers who are the heart of this work. For more than a decade, these dedicated people have been watching over nests, protecting vulnerable chicks and recording threats. The knowledge they gather is guiding vital conservation action and strengthening the case for stronger protections for owls.
You can give ecologists the tools to help land managers protect critical habitat. BirdLife Australia’s experts are working closely with councils, landholders and communities to safeguard old trees, restore nesting sites, advocating for and reducing key threats. With the right guidance, land managers can make simple but powerful changes that give owls the best chance to survive – and thrive – alongside us.
You can inspire the next generation to care for nature. Through the Birds in Schools program, thousands of students are planting native trees and shrubs , building nest boxes and discovering the joy of helping wildlife in their own playgrounds and neighbourhoods. These children are not only creating safer spaces for birds – they are becoming nature’s guardians.
You will also strengthen the fight against deadly poisons. Dangerous rat baits, still available on supermarket shelves, are killing owls and other raptors in slow, agonising ways. BirdLife Australia is pressing for a national ban , and momentum is growing with a federal review already underway . With enough support, we can win this fight – and save countless lives.
This work is conservation powered by care, backed by science, and only made possible by people like you.
Owls cannot fight for themselves – but with your help, they have a powerful ally. We know what needs to be done, and with your support, we can do it. But the threats are escalating, and the time to act is now.
Please donate today and help to protect our precious owls and the ecosystems they depend on.
for the species that need it most
to restore and protect crucial habitat for native birds
help our ecologists to be at the forefront of disaster preparedness initiatives
The largest of Australia’s owls, the Powerful Owl usually inhabits the moist forests of eastern Australia. Its main item of prey is possums of various species.
Australia's largest owl, the Powerful Owl has a wingspan of up to 140 cm. In suburban Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, they're usually seen round remnant bushland, where they face issues including lack of nesting sites and collisions with cars and windows. We're securing a future for Powerful Owl
