The Barn Owl Survey in action

This video shows an examination of a known Barn Owl site in Co. Kerry. There have been signs of the birds presence in this old farmhouse each year since the site was discovered in 2008, but the owls have not yet bred here. Two nest boxes have been placed inside the house, the site is very isolated and rarely visited, and there is ideal hunting habitat nearby, so it is absolutely perfect for Barn Owls.

Every known site in Duhallow and Kerry is checked by us at least once each season. It can take a number of years for a site to be occupied, in some case four years or more, and at others, seemingly suitable sites have never been occupied, but in one notable case, Barn Owls occupied and nested in an Owl nest box within just a few weeks of its installation.

Let's have a look and see what's going on here...