Barn Owl roost site in a quarry, Duhallow, 29th April (Michael O'Clery).
At this time of year, male and female Barn Owls will often roost together at the nest site just before laying eggs. The is probably the male 'minding' the female, ensuring that he is the father-to-be of any chicks. This site in Duhallow caused a bit of head scratching last summer (see this post HERE), but the mystery deepened further when two Barn Owls were seen roosting here a few days ago just under the lip of the quarry (circled).
There is no apparent nest site at the quarry, though there is a known nest site in a tree not too far away. However, if this is the pair which are going to nest in the tree, they are taking a risk of losing the nest, whether to other Barn Owls or, more likely, to Jackdaws taking it over after filling it with sticks.
So the puzzle persists, and only further observations will tell us what is going on here...
