Co. Kerry's 'famous five' Barn Owls

The first recorded brood of five chicks in Kerry for at least eight years was seen yesterday at a traditional site near Tralee. Many other nests in Kerry and elsewhere have four chicks, so the average brood size this summer is very high so far. 

Five or more chicks in a nest has only been recorded a handful of times before in Ireland (though it is regular in Britain), and is reflecting what seems to be an abundance of small mammal prey at the moment. Most sites visited have a surplus of voles and mice littering the nest. Perhaps the very good summer of 2014 followed by a relatively mild winter has allowed small mammal densities to remain high. The Barn Owls certainly seem to be benefitting.

Five Barn Owl chicks at a nest box near Tralee - the first of this size recorded in Kerry in many years, 26th June 2015 (M.O'Clery Under licence from NPWS).

Father of the five Barn Owl chicks. The male was roosting on a nearby beam, though as the chicks get older and more noisy and demanding, he will move out and roost elsewhere. Interesting to note, he is ringed... wonder where he came from? 26th June 2015 (M.O'Clery Under licence from NPWS).

A young Barn Owl chick at a nest box near Castlemaine, 26th June 2015 (M.O'Clery Under licence from NPWS).

Four Barn Owl chicks at a nest near Castleisland, caught on infra-red camera, awaiting their next feed, 18th June 2015 (M.O'Clery Under licence from NPWS).

Four chicks has become a familiar sight this summer at many of the nests which have been visited so far. The average for most years is usually around 2 –2.5 per nest. Let's hope the summer stays reasonably good, and most of these chicks will be in with a good chance of surviving until fledging.

Kestrels spread their wings

Young Kestrels around the country are either close to, or starting to, fledge from their nest sites. At this particular site in Co. Kerry this morning, three young Kestrels were already mastering the fine art of flying, though with mixed results. They are not straying too far from the nest site - a quarry cliff - because the two adults are still bringing prey deliveries to the nest site. All three youngsters are already masters of the air, swooping, hovering and diving with youthful exuberance. Landings are a little more haphazard however, with several wavering attempts needed for landings on rocky outcrops, and on several occasions, an undignified crash-landing onto a patch of heather.

Juvenile Kestrel, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

Above, a young Kestrel, having only just fledged in the last week or so, is already mastering the air. The overall shape is subtly different from adult birds, with a shorter tail and blunter-looking wings. The main flight feathers still have a little more growing to do.

Juvenile Kestrel, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

Above, a young Kestrel awaits food from the parents. The young are still making no attempt to hunt, though they must learn soon. Instead, they will rely on their parents for another few weeks, even once the family group moves away from the quarry nest site, though of course they will eventually have to learn to fend for themselves.

Juvenile Kestrel, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

Above, a young male Kestrel makes a clumsy attempt to land on a post above the quarry.

Juvenile Kestrels, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

Above, two of the three fledglings wait patently for one of the adults. When they do, there is much excited screeching as they compete to take the food item.

Adult female Kestrel, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

Above, the adult female Kestrel is looking a little ragged, after raising three hungry chicks. She will have another two or three weeks of hard work before the young start to disperse to find their own food.

Adult male Kestrel, South Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence form NPWS).

The adult male is also looking a little worn. Both adults will start to replace their worn feathers in the late summer and autumn, when food is plentiful and the young have gone.

If you see any Kestrel family groups in the coming weeks, please do let us know.

Nest cam shows effect of rain

Our nest camera at a Barn Owl site in Co. Kerry filmed for an entire night. The action starts at dusk, around 11pm, and ends around 5am. Five feeds were delivered to the four chicks in the hour up to midnight, but then continuous rain began. There were no further feeds before dawn, and the chicks will now have to wait until the next night for more.

Four Barn Owl chicks await their feeding, 17th June 2015. Once the rain starts, prey deliveries to the nest ceased (J.Lusby, under licence from NPWS).

Barn Owls struggle to hunt in heavy rain, as their feathers are not waterproof. Several nights of persistent heavy rain can spell disaster for a hungry brood, but fortunately the following night was clear and calm and normal service was resumed.

A good breeding season for Barn Owls?

It's early days yet, but monitoring of nests in SW Ireland in recent weeks has shown healthy brood sizes and several new sites. An example of six broods examined in just the last week showed 4, 4, 4, 3, 4 and 4 chicks at each, a very high overall average. Of course, there is a long way to go yet, and fledging will not happen for another 5 or 6 weeks for even the eldest of these chicks, but so far this season, the signs are good.

Four Barn Owl chicks, about two to three weeks old, at a site in Co. Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence from NPWS).

Two of four Barn Owl chicks, about two weeks old, at a new nest box site in Co. Cork (M.O'Clery, under licence from NPWS).

Another promising sign is that, at most of the sites examined, there has been a healthy surplus of food in the box with, in one case, seven Bank Voles lying on the floor of the nest site, ready for eating.

Kestrel chicks now fledging

Kestrel chicks are now starting to fledge, with several nests noted lately with well-grown birds now taking their first flights. Below, one such nest in West Kerry, with at least 5, possibly 6 chicks. The age difference between the oldest and youngest is striking, the youngest still fully covered in white down, the eldest almost adult-looking. There would be about two weeks age difference between these two.

Well-developed young Kestrels, able to make short flights around the nest site (M.O'Clery)

The eldest Kestrel chick, next to the youngest - quite a difference in ages (M.O'Clery).