Within the species's northern range, the causes of decline include loss and fragmentation of grassland foraging habitat, intensification of agricultural practices, urbanization, and road development which is also linked to road mortalities. It also suffers from severe winters. Increased mechanization of farmland in its northern range has meant the loss of important foraging sites, such as stockyards and stables, and the loss of abandoned farm buildings suitable for nest-sites. Organochlorine pesticides in the 1950s and 1960s and rodenticides in the 1970s and 1980s had disastrous effects on many owl populations in Europe, particularly north-west Europe, parts of North America and ... Read More