Good weather bodes well for Kestrels and Barn Owls

Despite last years breeding season being one of the poorest on record for Barn Owls and Kestrels, both seem to be doing well so far this summer. Although some sites were lost in summer of last year, those sites which do still have birds have brood sizes which seem to be up on previous years. 

Below, a photo from a nest box hear Tralee, where the female has four young chicks - hard to tell, but there might even be a fifth in the white mass of chick bodies huddled against their parent. 

(You can click any of the photos for a closer look)

A female Barn Owl in  nest box near Tralee, Co. Kerry. The ball of white by her side is a huddling mass of at least four young chicks, perhaps only between a week and two weeks old. A dead Bank Vole to the right shows that there is a food surplus, and hunting has been good (Photographed under licence from NPWS).

Kestrels have also done well, and family parties are now appearing away from the nest sites. Both parents will feed the free flying chicks for several weeks and as the skills of the young improve they will often fly up to meet a returning parent and to take the food from them in mid-flight.

Two young Kestrels, at a nest box near Castlegregory, Co. Kerry. They are about 4 weeks old and are already make short excursions outside the nest box. (M.O'Clery).

One of the Kestrel chicks exercising inside the nest box. The wings are just about fully grown and the two other chicks from this brood are now perching most of the time outside the box and in nearby tree branches (M.O'Clery).

A Kestrel nest site in NE Kerry, where three chicks fledged and are now noisily flying about the nest area.

 Two of the young Kestrels awaiting their parents return. They quickly become adept fliers and even at this early stage can fly up to meet a parent and take food from their talons (M.O'Clery).

Extended Kestrel nestbox footage

Screengrabs from the video below. Feeding on a rat, a Pygmy Shrew, lots of napping, scratching, nibbling and flapping, all while keeping an eye out for the next meal.

Probably the last few days in the nest box for these three young Kestrels. Two are already exploring outside the box at times, though returning quickly if they see one of the adults returning with food. As the birds preen and stretch you can see how the wing and tail feathers have almost reached full length, and much of the down feathering is now gone. The parents have been providing regular feeds to the hungry chicks, and while one is nibbling at a half eaten rat at the back of the box, another gets a fresh delivery of a Pygmy Shrew which is swallowed whole.

The oldest chick is now regularly leaving the box to stand just outside, often exercising its' wings, and it will only be a matter of a day or two before all three do so, and the eldest will be able to make short flights to nearby branches. It is likely that they will still use the box to roost for a few more nights, but as their flying abilities rapidly improve, the whole family will take off and feed in nearby areas. The parents will still attend to them away form the nest until they are able to hunt for themselves.


Three Kestrel chicks, Co. Kerry, 10th June (Filmed under licence: M.O'Clery). You can see the video full-screen by clicking on the arrow icon on the bottom right.

Neurotic neighbours - Jackdaws and Kestrels

Jackdaw - one of the commonest crows in Ireland, nesting on and in buildings, and often sharing nest sites with Kestrels (all photos: M.O'Clery).

Jackdaws are an intelligent and social species and often nest in the same old buildings as Kestrels though they have a very uneasy relationship. At this old church tower in Co. Kerry, the pair of Kestrels share their nest site with numerous Jackdaws, and both adult Kestrels were seen to be hunting nearby and delivering prey to the well-grown chicks.

The old church tower in Co. Kerry with many nesting Jackdaws throughout and nesting Kestrel on the top right of the tower (M.O'Clery).

One of the adult Kestrels will always remain at the nest until the chicks are old enough to defend themselves. The defense mechanism of young Kestrels left alone at the nest is to back as far into the nest as possible, screech loudly, and swipe at any intruder (or ringers hand) with their sharp talons with a sharp downward slashing motion. For a ringer, the experience can be like putting your hand into a bag of sharp knives, but it is obviously a sufficient deterrent to the ever-present Jackdaws, who would happily eat a young chick if they felt they could survive the experience unscathed.

As the adult Kestrels were watched delivering prey, Bank Voles were certainly on the menu. If you look at the photo below in detail (you can click on any of the images for a larger view), you can just make out the Vole in the female Kestrels' talons.

Female Kestrel, carrying a Bank Vole back to the nest.

Shortly after this prey delivery, a Jackdaw appeared on the tower with a Bank Vole in it's beak. Did it manage to brave the ferocious young raptors and steal it? While it may not be able to grab one of the chicks for a meal, it might well have been able to grab the chick's meal instead.

 Jackdaw with a Bank Vole. Did it manage to catch it itself, or steal it from the Kestrel nest?

Relocating Barn Owl shows real value of nest boxes

To the horror of surveyors today, a Barn Owl site in the roof space of a derelict cottage near Newmarket, Co. Cork – a site which has been continuously occupied by Barn Owls for twenty years or more – was found to be badly damaged by recent storms. The metal roof had been largely stripped by the violent gales, the peat roof exposed to the elements and collapsed into the building. 

The site was found to be now almost useless to the owls as a nesting site as the missing roof sections would now allow access by cats, foxes and other predators. It seemed to be the end of the owls in that area, as there was no signs of the owls and there were no other suitable nest sites nearby.

The shattered remnants of the cottage where Barn Owls nested in the roof space for two decades. The old peat roof covered with corrugated iron sheeting had provided the perfect cavity for nesting Barn Owls (all photos: M.O'Clery).

However, at one site, about 3 km away, the Duhallow Raptor Conservation Project had installed a Barn Owl nest box in a modern barn. To date, there had been few signs of any owls at the box so there was only low expectations as it was visited and a ladder put up to access the box.

Amazingly, a pale male Barn Owl flew out, and inside the box was a female and four young chicks. 

This bundle of feathers is the female Barn Owl brooding four young chicks which ranged in age from about three to ten days old. Four is a particularly good brood size for Barn Owls showing that the surrounding area has good hunting, and that the spring weather has been kind to the birds this year.

The female was found to have a metal ring GR68167 affixed to her leg, and this proved to be from an adult female Barn Owl which was caught and ringed by John Lusby at the very same cottage pictured above the previous summer.

The adult female Barn Owl, the metal ring visible on her leg.

The relocation of this female (and perhaps her male partner too) shows there is a very real value to the nest box project. Without the nest box, the barn they are now in would have had no suitable nest sites within, and there are no old or derelict buildings in the immediate area of the cottage suitable for nesting,

Instead of losing a valuable nest site to the area, by providing the nest box nearby, the birds have only had to move a few kilometres. They can hunt over much the same territory, areas with which they will long be familiar with and where they will have an intimate knowledge of the best hunting areas.

FOOTNOTE: The female Barn Owl in here was trapped at the cottage site in August 2013 and ringed. There is a video clip on the Duhallow Raptor website HERE showing the very same female, while John Lusby explains the wing moult and ageing of Barn Owls. This female was judged to be three years old, so is now four – ripe old age for a wild Barn Owl, and a true veteran.

 Wing of the female Barn Owl today, at four years of age. Though the wing looks complete, there is one secondary feather growing. The outer primaries look worn, though her plumage is a little ragged from spending the past two months in the nest box, incubating the eggs and brooding the young.

Kestrel nest visits underway

Several Kestrel nests were visited in recent days in Co. Kerry, with John Lusby, Raptor Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, ringing several broods of chicks. The first Barn Owl chicks of the year have also appeared (see below).

 This young Kestrel was one of three chicks in a nest box on the Dingle Peninsula. It is about 12 to 14 days old and about half grown.

Local participation in the conservation of raptors is vital and here, Mary-Ellen proudly shows the Kestrel chick to her grandchildren. The chick came from a nest box close to her house. Mary-Ellen keeps a close eye on activities at the nest and keeps us informed of all developments.

A new Kestrel nest site was discovered recently, at a castle in Co. Kerry. The nest was on a ledge about 12 metres up (about 25 ft), and is part of an old fireplace.

The new nest site had five eggs, so we will keep a close eye on developments. This brood is a little later than most Kestrel nest sites which, by now, contain chicks.

 Another visit, this time to a Kestrel nest in a Scots Pine, proved less fruitful. Despite climbing the tree in wind and rain, it proved to be empty. There is still a chance that the birds have chosen to nest elsewhere nearby as both male and female Kestrel were seen close by.

A quick check of a known Barn Owl site revealed four recently hatched chicks - the first detected by us this season. There is also one more egg, just visible lower left. If it should hatch, it would be the first brood of five chicks in Kerry so far. (All photos: M.O'Clery).