Ballycruttle barn owls defy odds with surprise winter brood
- 4 months ago
A pair of barn owls in Co Down have welcomed an extremely late winter brood – one of the latest recorded in Northern Ireland to date.
The discovery of four fluffy chicks in November has surprised and shocked conservationists from Ulster Wildlife, who inspected the nest site at Ballycruttle Farm under licence from NIEA.
The chicks, which fledged in December, are one of the latest broods the local nature conservation charity has encountered in its work to protect these threatened farmland birds over the last 10 years.
The discovery of four fluffy chicks in November has surprised and shocked conservationists from Ulster Wildlife, who inspected the nest site at Ballycruttle Farm under licence from NIEA.
The chicks, which fledged in December, are one of the latest broods the local nature conservation charity has encountered in its work to protect these threatened farmland birds over the last 10 years.