The recent (and ongoing) winter storms have caused huge damage around the country, especially in coastal areas, and the exceptional winds have already altered and damaged a number of Barn Owl nest sites.
This huge Beech tree with a trunk diameter of about 2 metres (6-7 feet) was blown over some weeks ago at a site in Kerry, right next to the only known Barn Owl tree nest in the county. It narrowly missed the nest tree and severed several large branches from the side with the nest entrance hole. Fortunately, the owls roost in a nearby derelict building in winter, so were unlikely to have been directly affected, but we will have to wait and see if they use the tree nest again with the surrounding branches stripped.
Lat year, at another site in Co. Kerry, slates were stripped from the roof of an old stone barn, some of which were directly over the nest site in an old chimney inside the building. In this case, the storm exposed the nest site to rain and rendered it unusable for the owls. We placed a nest box inside the barn and thankfully the Barn Owls moved straight in.
Several other recent visits to buildings known to have Barn Owls have shown some dramatic changes, with collapsed walls and gable ends, timbers down and slates blown off, but as the nature of many of these structures is one of ongoing decay and collapse, in some cases the storms will have opened up new roof spaces or cavities which the owls may be able to exploit.
A derelict mansion in Kerry where storms have collapsed a high wall, knocked down huge roof beams and stripped slates from the roof, but which has now opened a roof space in which owls might now be able to nest (All photos: M. O'Clery).
