Knowing my birding opportunities were going to be slightly curtailed this weekend, I decided to chase up a tip off about a Barn Owl on the way home from work.
This is a bird I have yearned to see for a long time, I love Owls, and in the last year have had my first encounters with Long Eared and Little Owls at locations not too far away, but Barn Owl is a bird I never seem to connect with, a likely combination of not birding the right areas at the right time, being a relative newbie, and it's sad decline.
Anyway I arrived at the location at around 5.20 and scouted the area. By 6pm I was beginning to wander if I had the right place, and was wishing I had worn appropriate warm clothing as I was perished. I was just about to head for the car at 6.15 when I thought I saw a white head pop up from a hole in a nearby tree.
I raised my Bins and WOW ! my first barn owl was having a peek at the dusky evening. it continued to do so for just a couple of minutes before deciding to press the snooze button, but what a great start to the weekend. I went home to thaw out.
I'll never forget my first patch Barn Owl, so i know how excited you felt :-)
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