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Frequent Researcher Visits Were Linked to Lower Eastern Barn Owl Nest Survival During Incubation

Eastern Barn Owl in Banten, Indonesia
Research · Reproduction & development

More frequent researcher visits were linked to lower nest survival in eastern barn owls (Tyto javanica javanica) breeding in Malaysian oil-palm plantations, with the strongest relationship during incubation. The study followed 57 nest boxes in Pahang and Sabah for 30 months and recorded 108 breeding attempts.

Researchers repeatedly checked the boxes and recorded how long breeding females took to return after leaving the box when a visit disturbed them. Visit frequency was the monitoring variable most clearly related to nest survival, while female return time provided a measure of the owls’ immediate response to disturbance.

Females returned sooner in mature oil-palm habitat and during incubation. Return time was also related to hatching success, and the researchers recorded several cases in which eggs or young were taken by predators shortly after females had left nest boxes during researcher visits.

The authors recommend less frequent and shorter researcher visits during incubation. They also suggest checking boxes around dusk so nests are not left unattended for long periods after a female departs.

Sources and image credit

  1. Ravindran, S., Enríquez, P. L., Hamid, N. H., Zainal Abidin, C. M. R., Adnan, A. F., Ahmad, A. H., & Salim, H. (2026). Data and code from: Influence of researcher presence towards nest attendance and breeding of barn owls (Tyto javanica javanica).Primary public 2026 research dataset and study summary published 2 September 2026. Fifty-seven nest boxes in Malaysian oil-palm plantations were monitored for 30 months, covering 108 breeding attempts. Visit frequency was significantly related to nest survival, especially during incubation; female return times were also related to hatching success, and several predation events followed researchers flushing females from boxes.

Image: Eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica javanica) in Banten, Indonesia, 7 February 2026. Photo: Forest Botial-Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0. Representative image of the same subspecies; not a study bird. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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