WET and windy weather over the last few weeks has put a majestic nocturnal creature under threat.

The World Owl Trust at Muncaster Castle is becoming increasingly concerned about the fate of Cumbria's wild barn owl population.

So far, conservation officers working at the trust have encountered 16 cases of the creatures starving to death because of the recent bad weather.

WOT conservation officer Jenny Holden explained that barn owl feathers were not waterproof and the birds prefered to stay in the dry on rainy days. They also carred very little body fat and could starve to death in only three days if they did not tuck into their favourite dish of mice.

Miss Holden said: "We have had 16 reports of dead and dying birds so far, last night we received two. Barn owls are mainly found in the Mediterranean and South America so they are on the edge of their range in this country and are just holding on."

She added that although each winter only 20 per cent of barn owl chicks survived, the rain this year had meant that even more than usual had died.

Birds found alive are admitted to the WOT hospital at Muncaster and given food and fluids. But if they have been starving for too long the lining of their stomachs breaks down and nothing can be done to save them. Only two owls found starving have so far survived and are waiting to be released back into the wild from the WOT hospital "Because of the bad weather it would be tantamount to reckless abandonment to release them now. If you find one of the creatures you should not feed it but take it to the WOT hospital as quickly as possible," said Miss Holden Collin Barr, of Oxen Park, near Ulverston, knows only too well how cruel life can be for fledgling barn owls.

"This year I built a nesting box and put it in an empty barn, the owls laid three eggs and produced two chicks. One of the fledglings may have survived because I heard it hissing in the barn but we found another in the barn dead. We called the WOT who said it had probably starved to death," he said.

Mr Barr added: "If you find an owl hand it over to the experts as quickly as possible and ring WOT and they will decide whether it can be fed on the spot or needs to be taken into captivity."

The WOT telephone number is 01229 -717393.