Through the annual Barn Owl monitoring work undertaken by BirdWatch Ireland between 2007 and 2016, the following aspects have been achieved;
• Over 200 active Barn Owl sites were recorded in Ireland between 2007 and 2016.
• In 2016,138 sites were registered as 'active' or 'recently active'.
• Breeding success has been monitored at over 800 sites between 2008 and 2016.
45 day old Barn Owl chick ringed at a site in Co. Tipperary in June 2016 (M.O'Clery under licence from NPWS).
• Occupancy and breeding success has been monitored at over 80 sites each year.
• Over 750 owlets have been ringed throughout the country since 2008.
• A total of 74 ringing recoveries and controls have been recorded between 2008 and 2016.
• A total of 416 mortality incidents have been recorded between 2008 and 2014.
Barn Owl in Co. Kerry in July 2014 (M.O'Clery under licence from NPWS).
• Over 300 Barn Owl nest boxes have been installed, 35 of which were used for nesting in 2016.
• Over 10,000km2 have been systematically surveyed for Barn Owls to derive detailed information
on densities and nest site availability.
• Over 1,200 sites have been assessed for the presence and suitability for Barn Owls.
And the work continues... Lots more to come in 2017.
