A pair of barn owls nesting at Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Church have found a safer home thanks to a new conservation initiative.
Callum Leonard, a member of the Glasgow Peregrine Project and the Scottish Raptor Study Group, has been working in partnership with the church to improve conditions for the resident owls, which had previously been roosting on an exposed ledge without a secure nesting site.
To help the birds, he designed and installed a purpose-built barn owl nest box, carefully fitted to minimise disturbance. The results have been swift and positive, the pair have already adopted the new box as their nesting site.
Barn owl numbers across the UK have declined over recent decades due to habitat loss, intensive farming, and the loss of traditional nest sites in barns, trees and old buildings. Projects like this one in Skelmorlie aim to reverse that trend by giving owls and other raptors a secure place to breed.
The initiative has already sparked strong interest within the local community, with residents following the progress of the birds online via a dedicated YouTube channel, Skelmorlie Barn Owls. The livestream allows the public to watch the birds safely and responsibly without disturbing them.
