This morning I spent half an hour showing visitors our barn owls. The oldest chick came out of the box on to the shelf and stretched its wings, before returning back inside. It still has some wisps of down on its head, back and wing coverts, but it can't be far from leaving the box for the first time. I saw 5 chicks in the box last week, so we can expect lots of activity during the next fortnight.
Both adults were roosting in/under the derelict box nearby, but the female was preening as if getting ready to fly. Then she made a short visit to the nestbox, presumably to check her family, before departing over the reedbed. With a large family of hungry chicks to feed, we can expect both parents to be hunting during the day, especially if it has rained during the night.