This weekend the first of two eggs hatched, and the moment was captured on the webcam, which is streaming live from the DWT website. This year the webcam is sponsored by PFM Associates.

Viewers of the webcam were delighted to see the chick hatch on Saturday. Lynda Farringdon said on Sunday, “Saw the egg shell last night and thought, oh no, clumsy mum has smashed an egg – not dreaming, she has hatched a chick! Lovely surprise to see it this morning.”

DWT Communications Officer Sally Welbourn said, “We are so delighted to welcome a new barn owl family to the Lorton Meadows nest box. After the tragedy of losing the female last year, we are hoping for a successful year for this new couple.  Barn owls are in decline nationally, which is in part caused by low food availability, due to loss of habitat. Luckily, they have access to the habitat-rich nature reserve at Lorton Meadows which has 75 hectares of hay meadows, mature hedgerows and woodland – all holding the small mammals that barn owls hunt, such as mice, voles and shrews.”  

PFM Associates are delighted to be sponsoring the webcam this year, allowing us to stream the lives of the barn owls live on the DWT website.  They said, “We advise on all areas of financial planning from life assurance, helping to arrange a mortgage, saving for a ‘nest egg’, to retirement planning and specialist investment advice.  We are ‘eggs-tremely’ ‘egg-cited’ to be able to help Dorset Wildlife Trust support and raise awareness of our amazing local wildlife, in particular this young family of barn owls.”

To watch the barn owls live 24-7, click here.