Norfolk Barn Owls.

No visit to Norfolk for me would be complete without a sighting of a Barn Owl and fortunately these beautiful birds are widespread there. Almost every village has one nearby and I wish it was the same back home but that will never be because of the local farming environment. In north Norfolk I have a location I have been watching for as long as I can remember, and it’s virtually guaranteed to turn up a Barn Owl every evening. After my dalliance with landscape photography we decided to try and see, and hopefully photograph a Barn Owl, and after our first visit to this location we could see what looked like a male bird hunting in a cut field, which is unusual because they usually like rough pasture where mice and voles can try to hide. We found a vantage point where we could see into this field via a gap in the hedge that surrounded it and the next evening we lay in wait for the Owl. As the afternoon progressed and what we call ‘Owl Light’ approached, suddenly there he was, hunting in the same place as previously. I took numerous flight shots as he quartered the field, coming closer, then moving away again. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts you can get plenty of flight shots,






but a shot of an Owl on a post for example is more difficult. They frequently perch but it’s nearly always too far away for a decent shot, but this time it flew closer still and then perched on a nearby fence post.

You can see this is a male bird by the complete lack of any spotting on the breast and flanks and his overall white plumage.



It doesn’t happen for us very often so I gratefully took the shot before it was up and flying again and disappearing out onto the marsh in search of further prey.
Always a nice way to end the day!