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23 July 2014

Four Barn Owl chicks near fledging

Here's what a healthy brood of four Barn Owl chicks looks like!

Two male and two female Barn Owl chicks are on the verge of fledging from this nest box in east Kerry. All the fluffy down is now gone, and they are now almost indistinguishable from adult birds.

This footage was taken on the early morning of 15th July and, by 18th, there was only one chick left at the box, so the video shows almost the last time these four will be together. Over the next week or two they will be fed by the adults in and around the site but, increasingly, away from the box itself. Soon they will learn to fend for themselves, and go their separate ways.

(You can click the arrow icon on bottom right to see the full resolution video).

 
Four Barn Owl chicks at a nest box in Co. Kerry (Filmed under licence from NPWS: M.O'Clery & J. Lusby).