Powerful Owl Project

Key points

• Half the owls’ forests have been lost since European settlement
• Colliding with cars and windows kills 12% of the population of Powerful Owls in Sydney each year
• It takes hundreds of years for trees to form hollows suitable for these birds to nest in

Powerful solutions for Powerful Owls

The Powerful Owl Project aims to:

• Inspire the general public, educating them about owls and their habitat requirements.
• Train citizen scientists to conduct surveys to find owls and track breeding success.
• Monitor the distribution and abundance of owls and uncover why owls are present in some areas and absent in others.
• Uncover habitat characteristics associated with greater breeding success in Powerful Owls.
• Develop accurate species distribution models to be used for planning by state and local governments.
• Identify site-specific management recommendations.
• Understand the impacts of threats such as vehicle strike and electrocution.
• Inform and support land management for the conservation of Powerful Owls.

Making an impact

The Powerful Owl project is active in south-eastern Queensland and Greater Sydney.

Greater Sydney

Powerful Owls occur throughout the outer metro area, especially where there’s bushland nearby. Over the past 10 years, there’s been sightings closer to the city, even in the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park.

Over the last 11 years, we’ve monitored more than 260 Powerful Owl territories, collecting data to help land managers look after the birds on their patch.

South East Queensland

Our activities are impacting large areas of good breeding habitat in southern Queensland, with developers clearing owl habitat to cater for people moving to the area.

We need your help to understand where Powerful Owls breed and what we can do to protect them.