Barn Owls and other ramblings.

The weekend was hit and miss bird-wise, Saturday was my birthday and I got up at dawn to try and see the Barn Owls in daylight....... I did, but it was so misty that the bird, when it appeared on the post, was just a ghostly shape. As the morning light increased I was hoping for one to return but it didn't happen and I am aware of how important it is not to disturb them in any way. So I left agin quite early, at around 7.  Hence, I don't know if they are breeding or have bred. It's a catch 22, I would like to know if they are, but finding out might well cause some damage which is something I would be devastated to do. During the day on Sunday, I took a hide and positioned it next to a hawthorn with a good view.  I completely covered it with cut hawthorn branches, grass and other natural vegetation to blend in to the bush.  Later, I went and sat in there at 8.30 in the hope that, again they would come out during the fading daylight. Like before, I waited and waited and when it was completely dark, at 9.40,  I was disappointed when I hadn't seen one. Then, silently and spectacularly..... there it was.  What a real  thrill!  The magnificent Owl  sat there  as before, on the corner of the wall, bobbing up and down with it's piercing "coal-black"  eyes staring in my direction but I knew that it could not see me, how could it. If it had, it would have left immediately I am sure. Eventually, it did fly off, probably to hunt, and I quickly made my escape. I managed some ridiculously under-exposed pictures in the darkness.  At this size the picture looks half decent and you get the impression of what it looked like through the view-finder. But trust me, at any other size it is a very poor picture indeed.