I haven’t seen the barn owls in months, and just now on my walk I spotted a big fluffy cat sunning itself on the edge of the hole they nested in. Hopefully the two things aren’t related, given how long it is since the young would’ve fledged, and hopefully they’re okay - but I doubt there’ll be an owls nest there next year if it has become an habitual cat-haunt… I’d only people in the new estate wouldn’t let their pets roam!
There was a cat coming out of the meadow where the skylarks nest last time I came this way. And to get to either place they’re crossing a busy road as well so it is only a question of time until an owner is distressed by their pet’s inevitable demise.