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Solo , IA
Fen is a 5 year old male barn owl. While common across many parts of the world, the barn owl is endangered at a state level in Iowa since 1977. They are uncommon in the southern part of the state, and very rare in the northern part.
The website above isn’t so useful for pictures, but does give visiting information. The Facebook on the other hand has a good number of pics and event info. They seen to do a lot of art events where people come to draw the owls and they show some of the sketches.
If you have any owl art, don’t be afraid to share!
They were affected by DDT use in the 20th century and could also be susceptible to rodent poison, because rodents make up a main portion of their diet. Barn owls are also prey of the larger great horned owl, which is a major threat to the existence of barn owls.
Dickinson Co Conservation Board
Lobbying against rodent poison is the focus of a few of the raptor rescue pages I’ve come across. Poison doesn’t kill instantly, and a weak rodent will be easier for a bird, cat, etc to catch, who then injests that poison themselves. Poison is not a selective means of animal control, it will hurt whatever consumed it.