Ten barn owl chicks have been recorded at two sites in County Fermanagh this summer, the first confirmed breeding in the county for 50 years.

Conservation charity Ulster Wildlife verified the broods during farm visits. Each nest box held five chicks. The locations are not being disclosed due to the bird’s status as a locally endangered species.

Ulster Wildlife senior conservation officer Katy Bell stated that the charity has spent more than a decade working with landowners in the area, advising on land management and installing nest boxes. Farmers on the sites had allowed rough grassland and thick hedgerows to develop, providing hunting ground for small rodents.

The chicks have had identification rings fitted under licence from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with support from the British Trust for Ornithology. The rings allow the birds to be traced if they are spotted after leaving the nest.

Fewer than 30 breeding pairs are thought to remain in Northern Ireland. Most previous records held by Ulster Wildlife come from the east of the country. The charity has also worked with BirdWatch Ireland and has observed the population beginning to spread north from County Cavan.

Barn owls are red-listed across the UK due to habitat loss, pesticide use and rodenticide poisoning. Bell said the birds also face risks from road traffic and a scarcity of large, old trees with natural nesting cavities.

The nest boxes used in Fermanagh are designed to replicate tree cavities, with sloped roofs to keep out water and a front platform where young birds exercise before fledging.

Bell reported a long waiting list of farmers requesting boxes. Farmers benefit from the owl’s diet of rats and mice, she said, describing the arrangement as working in harmony.

Members of the public are asked to report barn owl sightings, particularly in the west, to help fill gaps in records and identify breeding areas for protection.