Following enormous damage to trees and property in the south west last February, a number of Barn Owl nest sites have had to have emergency repairs made. An example is shown below at a site on the outskirts of Tralee, Co. Kerry.
This mature beech tree was blown down during the hurricane force winds in February (see post below). Unfortunately it had a Barn Owl nest box in which a pair of Barn Owls raised two chicks last summer - one of the few sites to produce young last year.
The nest box lies crushed within the fallen branches. Thankfully there were no signs of Barn Owls within. The layer of pellets inside was about 15cm deep, showing that the box had been occupied for a number of years.
Community groups have been undertaking a series of raptor nest box projects in Kerry (of which, more soon), and a new box was volunteered for the site...
... and put in place on an adjacent tree. Just days later a Barn Owl was seen close by, so hopefully they are still in the area and will take up residence (Photos: M. O'Clery).
