Brood of six barn owls recorded in Kilkenny

A brood of six barn owls has been recorded in Kilkenny in what has been described as a 'bumper breeding season' by Birdwatch Ireland.

"We are all about records when it comes to barn owls and this is a good one," they told followers on social media.

"It's a bumper breeding season and for the first time we have recorded broods of six barn owls in nests in counties Wexford, Kilkenny, Clare, Limerick and Offaly, which now join the elite group of counties Kerry, Cork, Tipperary and Galway."

Barn owl monitoring and conservation initiatives in all of these counties have been supported by the local authorities and the National Parks and Wildlife Service through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.