The youngest Barn Owl in Ireland?

One of the latest broods of Barn Owls was visited yesterday, at a nest box site near Dingle, Co. Kerry. A check of the box in July revealed the female was still sitting on seven eggs, and by yesterday, three chicks were present. The youngest, pictured below, is about 33 to 35 days old, and will be fledging around day 65, towards the end of September.

The female at this site was born in 2013, and it is possible that she was also born relatively late in the year, which meant she didn't quite make it into breeding condition for the more usual early May laying date. Nevertheless, if the weather remains benign, the chicks should fare ok.

33 day old Barn Owl Chick, Co. Kerry, 24th August (With thanks to Liam Doyle).

Last visit to our Barn Owl nest box

With two of the four chicks at our nest box in Co. Kerry now flying well and spending more and more time away from the nest box, this may well be our last glimpse of the chicks before they fledge and disperse.

The two eldest often spend minutes at a  time away from the box on the other side of the room, and the eldest is even venturing over to the open window where the parents enter and exit with food.

There is lots of wing-stretching and flapping, and a lot of prey is being delivered (see post below) so they are certainly not going hungry. The youngest has been given a large rat to deal with, but this seems to be a little beyond it for the moment. All in all, they are getting the best possible start in life.

Note: The clip below shows only young Barn Owl chicks. The adults don't appear in this case. Although you can see what appears to be adult birds arriving at the nest, these are all clips of young birds flying back to the nest box after exploring the room.

Superabundance of prey

Some footage from a nest box in CO. Kerry has been shown recently (see several of the posts below), but when a  check was made of the cameras on a recent morning, a pile of prey items were seen at the nest box entrance. Spread out, below, were 5 Bank Voles, 3 Wood Mice, and a House Mouse.

Nine prey items found at the entrance of a Barn Owl nest box, July 2014 (M.O'Clery).

Bearing in mind that this was early in the morning, just after a night when the adults not only had to feed themselves, but also four near fully grown chicks. The chicks must have received more than they could eat before daylight, and the parents still brought more to the nest. It is not unusual to occasionally see perhaps 1 to 3 extra prey items at a nest site, but 9 is extraordinary and shows the abundance of prey available to the owls at this site.

More from Barn Owl family of four

This nest box in Co. Kerry, which featured in some of the posts below, has four chicks. The eldest is close to making its first flight, with lots of wing exercising. The youngest is still mostly covered in down and has perhaps two weeks to go.

This video is edited highlights of one night in their lives. Not all the food deliveries to the nest are shown, rather a representative selection. One thing obvious from all the footage is that junior is getting more than his fair share.

The first clip starts at 10.40pm on 19th July, as all four emerge from the nest box.

Four Barn Owl chicks, at a nest box in Co. Kerry, 19th/20th July 2014 (Filmed under licence: M.O'Clery).

A Barn Owl's first flight

Some remarkable footage of one of the first flights of a young Barn Owl. One of a brood of four, she is about 65 days old and ready for the off. Lots of wing-flapping, a final check of distance and bearing and she's off...

Barn Owl fledgling's first flight. Nest box in Co. Kerry (Filmed under licence from NPWS: M.O'Clery).