Things are looking good for the Kerry Barn Owl population so far this summer. Only a few sites have been lost from last year, several new sites have been found, and wherever breeding is taking place, brood sizes are good.
The first recorded brood of 5 chicks in Kerry for at least 8 years was seen yesterday at a traditional site near Tralee. Many other nests have 4 chicks. Most should survive to fledging if the weather stays at least reasonably good.
A young Barn Owl chick at a nest box near Castlemaine, 26th June 2015 (M.O'Clery Under licence from NPWS).
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).
For more on this, see the Irish Raptor Blog posting HERE
