Announcing the launch of our Barn Owl Live Stream!

April 20, 2023
Barn OwlBirds of Prey
Barn Owl peering out of its nesting hole in an ash tree after dark
If you love owls (and, let’s face it, who doesn’t love owls?), you will be pleased to hear that BirdWatch Ireland has set up a series of nest cameras which provide a discrete but intimate view of a Barn Owl nest in the roof space of an abandoned cottage in Duhallow, north Cork. You can view the nest live at any time of the day or night and watch the Barn Owls at the start of what will hopefully be a long and successful breeding season.
View the Irish Barn Owl cottage nest live stream here and here.
We are very excited to bring you this live stream. We are incredibly passionate about Barn Owls and have already learned so much about these birds from watching them over the last few weeks, and now you can too! Be warned however, it is addictive viewing!

As we join this cottage-nesting pair, the female has laid three eggs. You will see her diligently incubating the eggs on a near constant basis, as the male will do all the hunting and will arrive back at night to feed the female. We expect more eggs to be laid over the coming days, so stay tuned! Of course, we hope that in a month from now there will be chicks in the nest, which is when the fun (and the noise!) really starts, but you will have time to get to know the male and the female before things get too hectic.

There are two nest cameras, one focused on the nest itself, and one focused on the entrance to the nest. You can open both views and switch between them, depending on where the birds are and where the activity is. You can also scroll back to view recent activity. At this stage of the season, the camera focused on the nest provides the best views, and this will remain the case until the young are mobile and start to move to the nest entrance.

 

We are sure that you are going to love these birds as much as we do! Please feel free to comment in the live chat, especially if you notice any interesting owl behaviour. Also, please share this live stream with any family and friends who might be interested.

Barn Owls have been nesting in this derelict cottage for many years. If you want a glimpse of what things might look like in this nest in the coming weeks, then you can view the highlights from a previous breeding season in this same nest.
Although this Barn Owl nest in this cottage in north Cork is an important one, it is just one of a few hundred Barn Owl nests in Ireland. We have been working to conserve Barn Owls across Ireland over the past twenty years, and we are delighted to say that these efforts are paying off. There is still a lot of work to do, however, and this is where you come in. Please donate to our Barn Owl Conservation Appeal to allow us to work on your behalf to help conserve Barn Owls in Ireland and to ensure that they thrive in the Irish countryside.
Another way to help is by becoming a member of BirdWatch Ireland. By joining us as a member, you are supporting our vital conservation efforts, including the work that has made a real difference for Barn Owl conservation. You can find full details of membership and sign up online here.
We have big plans for these Barn Owls, and we hope that you will enjoy this intimate view into their lives over the coming weeks and months. It really is reality TV at its finest. Please, keep an eye on the live streams, and we will continue to bring you updates and recorded highlights on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, as well as in our forthcoming Barn Owl Blog.