The little owl, introduced to England in the 19th century, has become an established part of UK farmland wildlife. Its welfare depends on rough grassland for hunting invertebrates and cavities in old trees and farm buildings.
Little owl welfare is tied to the availability of traditional farmland features: old pollarded willows, veteran orchard trees, stone walls and farm buildings with accessible cavities. Modernisation of farm buildings that seal roof and wall cavities eliminates nesting sites permanently. The intensive management of grassland that reduces earthworm and beetle availability directly reduces food supply. Little owls in areas with mixed traditional farmland show higher breeding success and body condition than birds in highly modernised agricultural landscapes. Nest box schemes specifically designed for little owls — horizontal entrance tubes in appropriate structures — have partially compensated for lost natural sites.