First barn owl chicks fledge from Bere Marsh renovated barn

Barn owls have been nesting at the site for 20 years

Barn owls occupying a previously derelict barn that was saved following a £30,000 fundraising appeal have successfully raised chicks.

The Countryside Restoration Trust renovated the building at Bere Marsh farm, Dorset, amid fears it would collapse, leaving the birds homeless.

The roof was replaced and volunteers put straw bales and old tiles inside to encourage small mammals.

Camera traps placed inside have since captured images of the birds hunting.

The trust bought Bere Marsh farm in Shillingstone in June 2020 and immediately launched a public appeal to save the barn and its feathered inhabitants.

Farm manager Elaine Spencer-White said: "It was just short of falling down because it was so, so derelict.

"We were able to get local roofers in who - within three weeks - repaired the roof, restored the stability of the barn and the barn owl returned to the nest almost immediately.

"Obviously the scaffolding and the roofing was quite a disturbance for two or three weeks but they've bred there this year and that is reward enough for our efforts."

Volunteer Alan Wicks said: "It's absolutely amazing.

"When they finished the renovations, the farm could have used the barn but they decided to leave it purely for the owls.

"We tried to make a small nature habitat to encourage small mammals into the barn so when we have long periods of rain and the owls can't hunt - because their feathers aren't waterproof - they will hopefully have a food source.

"On some of the footage I've got you can see them play-hunting."

Barn owls are a protected species.

The trust says loss of habitat means up to 85% now live in nest boxes, making the barn one of the few remaining places in which the species can be seen it its natural surroundings.