Success for barn owls in Northern Ireland

Work to support the barn owls on the Kelly family farm in Ballyalton paid off for the third year, offering hope to conservationists

Barn owls in County Down have successfully bred for three years in a row.

They are one of Northern Ireland's rarest birds with fewer than 30 breeding pairs in the country.

But on one farm in particular it seems like the owls are starting to feel quite at home.

The Kelly family who own it had taken steps to try and make it a good environment for the owls, so they are celebrating that their efforts have paid off.

Barn owls were once a common sight, welcomed by farmers to their help with pest control.

But the loss of rough grassland, thick hedgerows, and old trees for nesting saw their numbers fall dramatically.

The Kelly family has been working with local conservation charities Ulster Wildlife and RSPB NI to try and help reverse this trend by maintaining thick hedgerows for nesting.

Katy Bell from Ulster Wildlife has been attaching a small ring on this chick's leg, so they can track where it goes in the future

They've also planting winter bird cover to feed birds and mammals, and worked to create pollinator margins and meadows with lots of different flower species to help increase the number of insects coming there.

Ten barn owl nest boxes have also been put up on the farm to provide much-needed nesting sites.

The family farm in Ballyalton has given hope to conservationists - but experts say more needs to be done to keep the success going.

Jack and Adam Kelly standing next to the nest boxes installed by Ulster Wildlife on their Ballyalton farm

Adam Kelly said they were delighted to see barn owls breeding for the third year in a row.

"We are very fortunate to have barn owls on our farm all year long," he said.

"It gives us a great sense of achievement and proves that what we are doing on the farm is working.