A new Barn Owl nest box in north-west Kerry holds the record for the shortest period of use for any such box in Ireland – just 24 hours!
A Kestrel box and a Barn Owl box were both installed on 11th February in a disused Barn beside a derelict cottage. Here it is, nicely in place in the darkest corner of the Barn, sheltered from the rain.
The Barn and cottage, with Kestrel and Barn Owl boxes in place (M.O'Clery).
But the following day, the 12th, saw this forecast...
Wind forecast for 12th February (see more detail HERE).
...Violent storm force 11, with hurricane force winds on parts of the exposed west coast. Gusts of 160km per hour were recorded at nearby Shannon Airport.
The winds that Wednesday lunchtime stripped the metal sheeting off the entire roof and dislodged slates and tiles from the adjacent cottage.
As mentioned in the post below, such storms can destroy and create new nesting opportunities for Barn Owls and Kestrels, and while the barn roof is gone, the attic space has now been exposed and could be exploited by Barn Owls for nesting. The chimney is still suitable for both species, and as the Kestrel nest box was of an outdoor type, we will leave it there and hope that it still might be used in the future. We'll have to find a new home for the Barn Owl nest box though...
