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| barn owl chick photo by Eilish Mc Gowan |
Following a talk on Barn Owls by John Lusby, Raptor
Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland in April, there has been growing enthusiasm to locate Barn Owl sites in the county. This enthusiasm has been well
rewarded and now we are delighted to be able to add two active and successful
nest sites of the elusive Barn Owl to the national distribution map. I myself
followed up reports from the local Wildlife Trust of a potential site close to
Bailieborough, which lead to nesting being confirmed in recent weeks. John
Lusby visited this nest two weeks ago alongside the Wildlife Trust members and
a single chick was ringed. However, the chicks had already fledged, and two
other birds using a nearby tree were also very likely to be chicks of this
year, meaning three fledged chicks in total. Given the fact that it has been a
very poor breeding season for Barn Owls across the country, a brood of three is
fantastic and well above the national average for the year, which gives good
hope for the species in Cavan. On the same trip John also confirmed another
nest site close to Cavan town, although the site has only become known to
BirdWatch Ireland very recently, it is obvious it has been used for some time
based on accounts of the landowner as well as the build up of pellets, which is
also encouraging news. The nest itself was inaccessible, however it was
confirmed that chicks were present via a roost watch and also with the use of a
special nest inspection device.
So there are Barn Owls in Cavan! And probably many more sites
than people may have previously thought. We encourage all branch members to
send on any sightings and information and to assist with locating other sites
in the county. The Raptor Conservation Project will continue to monitor both of
these known sites in future years and hopefully we can help this work and add to
the list. Please however bear in mind that Barn Owls can be very sensitive to
disturbance and that nest site locations should be kept discrete for their own
protection.
John would also like to express a very warm thanks to the
enthusiastic reception he received at his talk in April and looks forward to
further visits to Cavan in the future.
Visit the following link to The Mooney Show website to see an active barn owl nest here
http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/features/mooneycam
If you think you may have breeding barn owls in your area contact John at jlusby@birdwatchireland.ie
Visit a very informative blog with lots of information on birds of prey here
http://duhallow.blogspot.ie/
