Barn Owl

We walked into the twilight this afternoon, at the end of a grey day, sticking to the footpaths along the tracks across the fields where the farmers have run their tractors to guide us. We feel very constrained after Scotland where we wandered freely into the hills but have some sympathy with these English farmers whose lands are invaded by fly-tippers and hare-coursers.

At least we enjoyed some excitement. Gill spotted a barn owl on a stob along one of the ditches near The Wilderness, a small patch of woodland which seems to harbour more than its fair share of wildlife. It was only there a few moments before it pounced....

....dropping down into the grass to spend some time killing and then eating something that was probably small and furry, though we could find no sign of its remains when we looked.

The owl then flew up onto the post by the gate to which we had been heading, sitting there for some time surveying the field before....

....flying further along the fence line to perch in a tree. It must have seen us as it flew away over the reservoir wall, though we saw it a few minutes later when we emerged from the far end of The Wilderness.

The owl gave us a few minutes' excitement, yes, but we walked on with the warm feeling that, in this world that is so man-controlled, some wildlife still finds its place.