Barn Owl

[Jessey]

Our barn owls are back I hadn't seen them in ages but this morning I saw one gliding across my field and s/he swooped down into the grass and then took his spoils back to the nesting box in my neighbours property

I've been worried they had left for good as the property the other side of the nest box (my old yard) had dozens and dozens of trees removed last year and I thought it might have upset their habitat too much but obviously not I'm going to ask my neighbor if I can put my trail camera up near the nest box to hopefully get some pictures of them

 

[Trewsers]

Our short eared owl is back too. Someone told him it was spring - just wish the weather would behave as though it's spring
Look forward to pics @Jessey hope your cam captures some

 

[Bodshi]

It must be a spring thing! I've seen the one on the canal bank again - I wish I could have a job just observing wildlife lol. It's behaviour is always very curious to me because it appears to come out of a dyke between the fields and the canal bank - it's a deep dyke with trees and bushes growing down the sides in places - and then it glides about a bit and goes down, I thought back into the dyke but it must have gone down into the adjacent long grass because the dog put it up as he ran through it. Maybe it had caught something? But even then I would have expected it to take it's kill and fly off, given that me and the dog were so close. I can't imagine that it would be living in the dyke will it? There are some almost concealed bridges over the dyke to get in and out of the fields, sort of brick built tunnels that you can't see into because of the overgrowth and the dark, but even if there was a roost in there would a barn owl choose to use it? It was broad daylight when I last saw it too - about 2.30 pm - usually it's at dusk. There are nest boxes further down the canal bank. I haven't seen an owl, but I have seen kestrels using one. Other nice sightings that day were a group of roe deer (common at this time of year but always nice to see, as long as you're not the farmer of course) and lots of animal tracks in the snow. Some very dainty ones that I could have thought were a cat because it was so dainty that the animal had stayed on top of the snow - guessing fox - and some tiny little perfect paw prints which I think must have been a stoat.

Do you think we should have a Wildlife thread for anything wild animal or wild flower related?

 

[Trewsers]

Love the idea of a wild life thread!

 

[Jessey]

It seems odd for a barn owl to be living on the ground, there are some owls that might though I think.

I took a pic of my cats paw print in the snow, I was surprised as she is dinky but her paw print looked quite big.

 

[Prjsmk]

Oh i love owls, there is some in the woods behind where i live, sadly will soon be gone as its all going to have houses built on it