My little chickadees . . .
Ornithologist Brian Little checks two barn owl chicks born on a farm where holidaymakers can watch barn owls in their nest via CCTV. The farm is celebrating a baby boom of chicks following the harsh winter, which took its toll on the creatures.
The population of barn owls was severely reduced in north east England after snow and ice which lay for 10 weeks prevented them from hunting voles. Experts found 110 between the Cheviots and Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland had starved to death.
But at Whitelee Farm, which raises sheep as well as running holiday cottages close to the Scottish Border on the A68, John and Jill Wilson have helped a pair to raise eight chicks in two broods this year.
The barn owls first nested in a box in a sheep shed around five years ago. They have now produced a second brood of six, having had two chicks earlier in the year.