Barn owls have enjoyed a bumper breeding season in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, with 10 chicks recorded across two sites in what conservationists believe is the first successful breeding recorded in the county in 50 years. The achievement follows more than a decade of work by the charity Ulster Wildlife with local farmers, who have installed nest boxes and improved habitat for the rare and elusive bird. It matters because barn owls are red-listed and locally endangered, with fewer than 30 breeding pairs thought to remain in Northern Ireland, largely due to habitat loss and rodenticide poisoning.

The two broods of five chicks were found in specially designed nest boxes at undisclosed sites, whose locations are being kept secret to protect the birds. The chicks have been fitted with identification rings under licence from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with support from the British Trust for Ornithology, marking the first time this has been done in the area, allowing them to be tracked if spotted elsewhere. Ulster Wildlife's senior conservation officer, Katy Bell, credited the success to a combination of nest boxes and landowners managing hedgerows and rough grassland for hunting, and said the charity has a long waiting list of farmers keen to have boxes installed. The public is being urged to report barn owl sightings, particularly in western Northern Ireland, to help fill gaps in records and identify important breeding areas.