Thanks to an interested member of the public contacting us, one more Barn Owl nest has been located in Duhallow, perhaps the last for 2012. The birds have nested successfully in the chimney of an abandoned cottage for at least the last three summers. This brings the total number of known Barn Owl sites in Duhallow to 36, of which 21 are nests and 15 are active roost sites. This represents one of the highest densities of Barn Owls in the country.
Barn Owl nest, in the central chimney, Duhallow (M.O'Clery).
51 out of 113 nest sites nationally are in chimneys and 33 out of the 113 are in derelict farm houses/cottages, so this nest site is about as typical a Barn Owl nest site as they come, though this summer there were a series of less typical sites used for nesting, such as an old water tank, tree cavities and an unfinished new building.
