HE WAS the sole surviving barn owl at his East Riding nature reserve after the coldest winter in 31 years.
Wardens at Tophill Low nature reserve, near Driffield, were worried he may have to fly off to find love.
However, staff have discovered he has found a new partner and five chicks have been born.
Richard Hampshire, reserve warden, said: "After the last two bad winters we had only one male bird remaining on the reserve. We kept this single bird alive by feeding it voles and mice caught by the warden's cat which seems to have got it through the winter.
"Following the bad weather we saw a gradual increase in barn owl activity. The question was whether our barn owl would remain at the reserve or whether it would move to find a mate."
In a bid to tempt a partner for the lonely barn owl, volunteers and wardens cleared invasive Hawthorn and Willow trees from the owls hunting grasslands.
The reserve's nest boxes were also given a spring clean.
Mr Hampshire said: "We did not know how he had fared until we checked the nest boxes last week. On opening the boxes we were pleasantly surprised to discover five chicks."
Tophill Low had seen a peak in the number of barn owls at the end of 2009, when there were seven fledglings.
But barn owls face a battle for survival in cold snaps because they are unable to hunt for food when there is snow covering the ground.
To add to their winter woes, their feathers are not waterproof, making it even harder for them to keep warm.
Mr Hampshire said: "The chicks are great news as it means there are more barn owls to repopulate not only the reserve, but also the wider East Yorkshire area.
"The owlets will be tolerated for three months or so during which they will fledge and be taught to hunt by the parent birds.
"Come autumn, the parents will actively force them to leave the area as they do not want to be competing for food with them over the hard winter months.
"Usually many young owls die in their first winter, but these may be lucky as the crash in barn owl numbers means there are lots of good territories available for the young to colonise this year."
Daddy
his chick
HullDaily
