Six fluffy barn owls have been found nesting on a farm near Peterborough, bringing good news after the farm faced six suspected arson attacks this summer

A brood of six barn owls have welcomed a farm in Cambridgeshire after a difficult summer. The furry cubs, estimated to be 40 to 50 days old, were found at Moore Farm near Peterborough and were penned on Thursday as part of ongoing conservation efforts there.For Marsh Farm owner Judith Jacobs, seeing the nest come alive felt like a small victory. Jacobs was visibly relieved after the farm suffered a series of suspected arson attacks this year. “It’s very exciting because last year we didn’t do that… we tried our best to encourage the wildlife,” she said, according to the BBC, adding that the owl brought life and hope to the farm during a stressful time.The six owls, three females and three males, were almost evenly distributed in age, each about three days apart. The detail reportedly comes from Simon Dudhill, a volunteer who monitors the birds at Peterborough City Council’s Barn Owl Recovery Programme. Dude Hill of the Wildlife Conservation Partnership said the discovery of six owls in one nest was “very good” and the largest he had encountered so far this year.“I’ve had several groups of five and four owls in captivity this year. But this is the first brood of six I’ve found,” Duderhill said. In 2026, he personally surveyed more than 260 owls across Cambridgeshire, a labor of love that helped provide a clearer picture of barn owl numbers and activity across the county.Each moorland farm chick is given a metal ring with a unique identification number provided by the British Trust for Ornithology. These tiny rings serve a huge purpose: When birds are rewatched or restored, the numbers can help conservationists track migration routes, survival rates and the availability of local habitats. Over time, this information will be incorporated into targeted conservation measures, such as creating safer hunting routes and placing nest boxes in suitable locations.Jacobs explains some of the practical steps she’s taking to make her farm more owl-friendly. “We create a lot of hunting trails for the owls away from main roads so they can hunt safely because the barn owl’s biggest predator is cars,” she said. Road collisions have long been a major threat to barn owls in the UK. Providing them with safer corridors to hunt small mammals reduces this risk and helps nesting pairs raise more chicks.Dudhill believes 2026 will be a stronger breeding year for barn owls than recent seasons. After monitoring these birds for 15 years, he noticed that changes in reproductive success were closely related to food availability. “Over the past few years we’ve seen a decline in the number of babies, but not in the number of adult barn owls,” he said. “Last year we found a lot of adult bugs in the boxes, but they weren’t reproducing. It’s all to do with food. If there isn’t enough food around, they won’t reproduce.“However, things are looking more positive this year. Duderhill said he had seen a dramatic increase in barn owl numbers in many areas of Cambridgeshire, and there appeared to be more pairs of barn owls successfully raising their chicks. Still, the situation is mixed: Some areas are booming, while others still have low numbers of young owls.The practicalities of chick aging and sexing were part of Thursday’s work. Dudhill measured the length of each chick’s fourth feather to estimate age. He also used feather spots to determine gender: Spots on feathers usually indicate a female, while fewer spots indicate a male. These neat, low-impact inspections give conservationists the overview they need without disturbing bird development.Dudehill said despite working in the field for many years, every visit still creates a stir. “When you open a box, you see one or two or three little faces looking at you. Now it’s just as exciting as when I opened the box for the first time,” he said. Jacobs and others involved in local conservation share the same enthusiasm: small interventions: nest boxes, safe hunting corridors, habitat management, can have measurable results if sustained and supported by communities.The success story of Marsh Farm is a reminder of how local action can help wildlife recover. Whether it’s protecting habitat, reducing roadside hazards, or simply watching for signs of breeding success, communities play a key role. For Jacobs, little owls are more than a victory for conservation; they are a reason to continue investing our time and care in this land. “We try to encourage wildlife. The birds are part of the farm,” she said.