The record breaking barn owl killed by a car in Derry
A record-breaking barn owl flew 220 miles across Ireland – only to be killed by a car on arrival in Derry.
The young bird had doubled the distance previously recorded here, flying from Kerry to the North West.
But it was tragically killed a short time later on the Limavady Road.
It was picked up by Brian Hegarty, a volunteer barn owl fieldworker with Ulster Wildlife.
The unfortunate owl was identified by the special metal ring on its leg which was fitted as a chick last July, at its nest site near Farranfore, Co Kerry, by John Lusby from BirdWatch Ireland.
John said: “I couldn’t quite believe the news when Brian contacted me.
“The bird was one of four chicks that we ringed at a traditional nest site in Kerry in July 2015. The resident pair uses a nest box which we provided some years back, and they have bred here successfully every year since.
“The ringing of barn owl chicks and their subsequent recovery has provided us with a wealth of information on their dispersal. With over 600 barn owls ringed to date in Ireland, this is the longest dispersal recorded of any of the barn owls we have ringed yet.”
After their first winter, juvenile barn owls disperse from where they hatched to establish their home range where they hunt, roost and breed.
During this time up to a third of juvenile owls are killed on roads.
They rarely fly further than 20 miles.
Catherine Fegan, Barn Owl Officer with Ulster Wildlife, said: “It is very sad that this juvenile travelled so far to end up as road victim.
“However, this new information shows how important ringing chicks is to further understanding barn owl behaviour in Ireland.
“With less than 30 to 50 breeding pairs left in Northern Ireland, movement of birds from the Republic could help boost our tiny population, if they are lucky enough to survive their first year.”
The Kerry barn owl is now being sent for testing to determine whether it had been exposed to rodenticides.
Over 80% of barn owls in Ireland have detectable levels of rodenticide in their system, which is believed to be a key factor in their decline.
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