Devon SSSI nature reserve and eco lodges - Maggie's Blog
24 November
Barnowl in daylight...
The barn owl is still about - and at last I've seen it myself! I guess the recent poor weather (after my lovely Sunday morning walk there was horizontal rain)has made hunting harder, bringing this fabulous bird out earlier in the day. Today it was hunting over most of our fields, starting around 2.45. With breaks for rain showers it was still hunting the lodge field as I came back from cleaning Otter cottage around five. The light wasn't great, and my hands weren't very steady - and worse than that the camcorder packed up - so despite close views earlier in the afternoon (the bird didn't seem too concerned)these are as good as the pictures get.
I'm so pleased to have seen it. I stood in the gathering dark for an hour on Friday hoping in vain, yet this morning James, who's staying in Nuthatch, said he'd seen the owl most recent evenings... The guests in Honeysuckle have also been watching it hunt. But although I've known barn owls were about - I've heard their eerie calls, this is my first proper sighting. It's usually the guests who get the best views because the lodges look out over the owls' hunting ground.
Maybe, if it sticks around, I'll get the camcorder going again...
