The barn owl population has been in decline in recent years

Volunteers on Salisbury Plain ringed four owlets on 9 April - two months earlier than expected in the UK.

The Hawk and Owl Trust puts the early appearance of broods across Wiltshire down to favourable nesting conditions in the area.

Bumper crops and a mild winter meant an abundance of the small rodents, such as voles, which make up the owls' diet.

Army officer Major Nigel Lewis, one of the charity's trustees, said: "I am not supposed to be checking barn owls yet, but early breeding by other species caused me to take a careful look at some of their nesting sites.

"Judging by the numbers of eggs in other barn owl nests, 2005 should be a good year.

"They are still at the mercy of the late spring weather, but this early success is a happy contrast to last year when breeding productivity of barn owls in and around Salisbury Plain hit an all-time low."