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Fluffy new arrivals at Hope Farm

Last modified: 15 July 2009

One of the two barn owl chicks from Hope Farm's first barn owl nest
One of the two barn owl chicks from Hope Farm's first barn owl nest - Grahame Madge (The RSPB, Ref: 1037864)

The RSPB's Hope Farm is celebrating the hatching of its first ever barn owl chicks - in a nestbox donated by the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

The box has previously been used by stock doves but when RSPB staff checked it at the start of summer they found three barn owl chicks and two eggs. Sadly only two chicks survived, but they are now a month old and doing well.

The NFU's president Peter Kendall and the RSPB's director of conservation Mark Avery met at the farm last week as the young birds were being ringed, measured and weighed. They took the opportunity to discuss farming issues and the agricultural techniques developed at Hope Farm to create habitats for threatened farmland birds.

'This is fantastic news,' said Mark Avery. 'Barn owls are some of the best loved birds in our countryside and I'm extremely proud to see these two beautiful owlets thriving at Hope Farm.

'This is a symbol of the way that conservationists and farmers can work together'

'The fact that they are nesting in a box given to us by the National Farmers' Union is a symbol of the way that conservationists and farmers can work together to benefit wildlife.

'I hope that Peter will go away from his visit inspired by the work we are doing here and tell his members all about the ways they can help not just barn owls but skylarks, grey partridges, lapwings and yellowhammers - without having to sacrifice their profits.'

Measures used at the farm for the benefit of farmland birds include bare skylark plots in fields, wild flower margins and planting areas of unharvested seed rich crops.

'The NFU donated this box when the farm opened and I'm absolutely delighted that it is now being used by these barn owls,' said Peter Kendall. 'This is just one example where farmers and the RSPB are working together to enhance on-farm biodiversity.'

Barn owls are specially protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. The RSPB needed a licence to visit the nest and ring the chicks.

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