With a good hidden spot scouted out for owl watching, Nat and I set my 2 man real tree hide up on the Common late on Sunday afternoon in anticipation of Short-eared's the result to which I wrote about in my previous post.
Whilst watching them from a distance I was always hopeful that if the Barn Owl joined the fray it might stray a lot closer to the hide than the Shorties would. My hopes didn't prove to be disappointing as after about 30 mins of watching the
Barn Owl hunt the long grass beyond the River Dever, it started to work either bank back and forth towards the hide. A few well placed squeak calls on the back of my hand, and he / she was heading straight for the hide. I have to admit in my amateuristic state of Owl attraction, I tempted it so close that I couldn't focus my lens in time, and was beginning to wonder if it might join me in the hide.
None the less a fantastic afternoon spent watching the Owls, and a real privilege to see such an awesome bird in the daytime. Plus I reached 100 Bird Species for the year with a Male
Reed Bunting.
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| Barn Owl |
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| Barn Owl |
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| Barn Owl |
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| About To Drop |
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| My Favorite |
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| In Flight |
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| As Close As "Barnie" Got Before I Lost The Focus :-( |
They do come close don't they! Nice images of one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteFantastic photos Martin.
ReplyDeleteStew.
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