The Kerry male at his nest box near Tralee in spring 2016. He is by now nine years old, (M.O'Clery).
Ireland's oldest known Barn Owl - covered in a post from last March HERE - has survived the summer, and raised two chicks at his nest site near Tralee. However, his crown is now challenged by the discovery of another male of the same age.
A few days ago, a ringed male Barn Owl, discovered at a nest site near Ballinskelligs, was trapped, and found to have been ringed in 2008 about ten km away, in the same year as our old timer from the Tralee site.
The Ballinskelligs male, now also nine years old, August 2017 (C. Nelms).
Let's hope they both survive the coming winter and keep going.
Ringing of Barn Owls in Ireland only really started in earnest in Ireland in 2007, so it is possible that we might yet encounter an even older Barn Owl somewhere in Ireland.
