Once upon a time, Madrid’s nights were filled with the mysterious rustle of wings and the quiet cries of owls. Today, these sounds have almost vanished—residents of the capital and surrounding areas rarely encounter the feathered hunters that not long ago were common in old barns and church towers. Memories surface on social media: some haven’t seen an owl in Móstoles for two decades, while others recall listening to their hoots as children in Alcalá de Henares, before old houses gave way to new construction.
Attempts to return owls to the wild have not yielded the desired results. Despite the efforts of experts releasing birds bred in captivity, these nocturnal predators are disappearing from familiar places. Environmentalists call the situation a real tragedy and warn: without urgent action, Madrid risks losing these unique birds forever.
Critical threat
The last major survey of owl populations in the region took place in 2018. At that time, experts counted only 25–37 pairs, signifying a nearly 70% decline over two decades. Since then, according to specialists, the situation has only worsened. In some areas where owls were once common, they can now be counted on one hand.
Staff at wildlife rehabilitation centers recall how just thirty years ago they would find many dead owls and little owls on the roads. It was a sad but clear sign that there used to be far more birds. Today, such finds have become rare — the disappearance of owls is becoming increasingly evident.
Causes of disappearance
The main threat to owls is not poachers or predators, but changes in agriculture. Intensive use of chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides, as well as the reduction of wild areas between fields, leads to the disappearance of insects, rodents, and other small animals that owls feed on. Environmentalists point out: when the food disappears, so do the predators.
The chain is simple: less grass means fewer insects, fewer rodents — fewer owls. Moreover, most owl chicks do not survive until the next spring, dying in their first year. This process repeats year after year, and the population does not have time to recover.
Struggle for survival
This year, specialists released 70 owls, raised in special centers, back into the wild. All of them were born to pairs that cannot survive on their own. After the eggs are laid, they are placed in incubators to increase the chances of hatching, and then the chicks are returned to their parents for rearing.
Most of the remaining owls live in the south and east of the region, in rural areas such as La Campiña, Talamanca de Jarama, and Fuente el Saz. However, even here their numbers continue to dwindle.
A vicious circle
Environmentalists emphasize that chemicals used to control pests are causing the disappearance of the owls’ food sources. As a result, to deal with new rodent infestations, farmers resort to using even more poisons, and the cycle repeats itself. Unless this chain is broken, the extinction of owls will become irreversible.
The situation is alarming at the European level as well: according to recent data, owl numbers across the continent continue to decline. In Spain, estimates suggest that over the past 18 years the population has fallen by 70%—a record dropout among nocturnal predators.
Hope for change
In an effort to turn things around, environmentalists are urging farmers to forgo poisons and install special nesting boxes for owls and little owls. A single pair of owls can eliminate up to 4,000 rodents a year, making them natural allies in pest control.
Over the past five years, more than two hundred owls have been released in the region, and dozens of nest boxes have been installed. However, the fate of the released birds remains unknown: after release, they can fly hundreds of kilometers away, making them nearly impossible to track. Modern tracking technology is unsuitable for nocturnal birds, and manual monitoring demands enormous effort.
Despite all the challenges, enthusiasts and volunteers refuse to give up. In Madrid, the fight to save the owls continues—with hope that one day their night calls will once again fill the silence of Spain’s fields.
