Barn owls breed at hall for first time in decades

Work to improve the parkland around a country home for barn owls in Derbyshire has seen a pair breed for the first time in two decades.

A pair of the protected species of owls has successfully reared four young this summer at Kedleston Hall near Derby.

The National Trust said the owlets were a result of nest box installations and careful management of their habitats to boost the population of small mammals to provide enough food.

Countryside manager Tom Dunne said: "It's been a really exciting year for us. This is the first time that we've had a successful nest fledged with chicks, they've reared their chicks fully and they've flown off out into the landscape."

Kedleston has been working to manage its wooded areas and grasslands as well as plant wildflower meadows, which has helped increase the local population of field voles - a favourite food of hungry young barn owls.

Staff have also been installing owl boxes across the site to provide weather-resistant alternatives to the tree hollows found in mature trees, which breeding owls tend to look for.

It is one of these that has been home to the four owlets over the summer.

Dunne said it was "a sign to us that this landscape has lots of food available for the barn owls".

"We've been putting up barn owl boxes over years - they're a really important piece of the puzzle," he said.

"We love having as many species as we can on property. It's really good the barn owls are doing well on our doorstep here at Kedleston, it's an indication that the work we've been putting into this site is really starting to pay off."

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