Experts believe only 50 pairs of the birds are left in the county and fear winter conditions could endanger even more of them.

A Barn Owl preservation group has built 40 special boxes to house the endangered birds.

They are now looking for areas with the right combination of habitats to allow the owls to flourish.

Habitat loss

The South West Nottinghamshire Ringing Group has been awarded a grant to build boxes in targeted areas around the country.

The money will come from the Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group which says Barn Owl numbers have dropped from 250 pairs in the 1930s to only 50.

While two-thirds of Barn Owl fatalities are on the roads, the main reason for the decline is a loss of habitat.

Jim Lennon, from the Ringing Group said; "Their main enemy is progress. The countryside has been tided up.

"Barns have been turned into houses, copses of trees have been cleared and hedgerows have been cut back.

"The owls are a good indicator of the health of the countryside. If they are doing well it means there are lots of voles, if there are lots of voles the plants must be doing well."