PREVIEW

An Australian conservation group is ‘over the moon’ to discover an endangered Masked Owl living near one of its national parks. Aussie Ark discovered the bird living in Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in Barrington Tops, New South Wales. The Masked Owl is the second largest nocturnal bird in Australia after the Powerful Owl. The magnificent bird is endangered throughout its range, heavily impacted by lack of food, destruction of habitat and nest sites, and the ingestion of poison bait. Aussie Ark's Managing Director Tim Faulkner made the discovery while on a survey with US partners Re:wild with Re:wild’s Barney Long taking five stunning photographs which confirm the bird’s identity. Tim Faulkner said, “Now that they’re there, we want to know more. We’ll be working with Birdlife Australia over the next couple of months to confirm numbers and see if they’re breeding.”