Baby barn owl boom

Six new barn owl boxes erected in the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park have all attracted breeding birds, with 10 barn owl chicks and seven kestrel chicks expected to fledge from the boxes.

The boxes, mounted on tall poles, were installed by the Lincolnshire Bird Club in October and November last year, with funding from Lincolnshire County Council.

Andrew Chick, chairman of the Lincolnshire Bird Club said, “The scheme has been more successful than I could ever have imagined. It suggests that the barn owl population inLincolnshire is crying out for new homes.”

The boxes were checked in June this year, three were found to contain barn owls or their chicks, two had kestrels living in them, and one was found to have barn owls nesting in the main section of the nestbox and kestrel chicks in the upper section.