barn owls (1 Viewer)

My wife and I were driving home today through some back roads on the Essex Suffolk border, around dusk, when to my astonishment, I saw two barn owls on the branch of an oak tree by the side of the road. I quickly asked my wife to reverse back so we could take a look, and there they were, two beautiful barn owls looking back at us. They then moved and we saw them actually go into the tree, (so we are hoping we have seen their nest site!). It was such a fantastic thing to see and we only wished we had our camera with us. I was so pleased I had spotted them, and even more pleased that my wife got a look too, (she hasn't seen much wildlife yet, although with today's encounter is excited and keen to see much more and get involved with a passion of mine!). It just shows how much people miss all around them, and we feel very privileged to have taken in a such a wonderful sight. We are now looking forward to getting out there and seeing more, and hope you all get the chance to see the beautiful things going on out there too!

Barn Owls are such super birds, aren't they? :t: No matter how many times you see them they still give you that thrill o

I often see them up here in Northumberland and a couple of weeks ago I was at Cresswell Pond and there was one in broad daylight hunting over the nearby dunes. Folk driving by were stopping their cars to watch and, as one of the birders in the hide said, it's birds like this which spark that interest in birds and wildlife in folks :t:

rockbasher said:

My wife and I were driving home today through some back roads on the Essex Suffolk border, around dusk, when to my astonishment, I saw two barn owls on the branch of an oak tree by the side of the road. I quickly asked my wife to reverse back so we could take a look, and there they were, two beautiful barn owls looking back at us. They then moved and we saw them actually go into the tree, (so we are hoping we have seen their nest site!). It was such a fantastic thing to see and we only wished we had our camera with us. I was so pleased I had spotted them, and even more pleased that my wife got a look too, (she hasn't seen much wildlife yet, although with today's encounter is excited and keen to see much more and get involved with a passion of mine!). It just shows how much people miss all around them, and we feel very privileged to have taken in a such a wonderful sight. We are now looking forward to getting out there and seeing more, and hope you all get the chance to see the beautiful things going on out there too!

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Hi rockbasher, and welcome to BF

Well done to yourself, and your wife seeing a Barn Owl. Such a treat to see anyday. I am glad that your wife has taken to the same bird watching idea as yourself. :gh::-O

One thing about Barn Owls is you cannot miss them in the dark. Your car headlights will present them as a white ghostly effect moving around in the twilight/dark. Once you see them, you get hooked, and want to see them again.

Myself and my OH used to see one on our way to work in the morning, while living in the Central belt of Scotland. Yes, we woke up at the crack of dawn to go to work. Left our house a 5am (mostly in the dark) in the morning.
This particular Barn Owl we saw would be sitting on 'his' special fence post every morning. The fence post was on the outskirts of a small roundabout.
We slowed down, each time, and yes there he was on his favourite post. It cheered us up to know that he was there. So it must have been near his bed time when we saw him as it was early morning time.

We have not seen two Barn Owls together like you, and you are so lucky to have seen that. It must be a Mr and Mrs Barn Owl you have there. I understand that they can breed any time of the year, depending on the food source they have.

Let us know if your see the same pair again. They are creatures of habit, so if you see them in a particular patch, the chances are high that you will see them in the same place once more. Love their calls too. :t::-O

Always a great sight to see especially when you come across one or two unexpectedly.

You're very lucky. Watching some Barnies hunting sparked more of an interest in wildlife watching in my usually truculent older son, so I know what you mean.

Wow, would love to see Barn Owls like that! Great stuff Rockbasher!

thanks all for your kind replies and helpful hints, i regularly past the area so hopefully will see them again will report back any news

Envious

I would love to see a barn owl in the wild. I've only seen them in raptor centers. Is it possible to attract them with some sort of house? We do have great horned owls in our area, and perhaps the two owls would not be willing to share territory.

Hope you get a chance to see some of their offspring.

rockbasher said:

My wife and I were driving home today through some back roads on the Essex Suffolk border, around dusk, when to my astonishment, I saw two barn owls on the branch of an oak tree by the side of the road. I quickly asked my wife to reverse back so we could take a look, and there they were, two beautiful barn owls looking back at us. They then moved and we saw them actually go into the tree, (so we are hoping we have seen their nest site!). It was such a fantastic thing to see and we only wished we had our camera with us. I was so pleased I had spotted them, and even more pleased that my wife got a look too, (she hasn't seen much wildlife yet, although with today's encounter is excited and keen to see much more and get involved with a passion of mine!). It just shows how much people miss all around them, and we feel very privileged to have taken in a such a wonderful sight. We are now looking forward to getting out there and seeing more, and hope you all get the chance to see the beautiful things going on out there too!

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hi rockbasher welcome to bf i live on the other side of the suffolk/essex border, barn owls seem to be doing quite well around here, i think a lot of work has been done nest boxes etc i see them quite often best time is early morning or towards evening.
fozzybear
if you want to see a barn owl best place i know is an early morning walk between cattawade and flatford along the stour don't think i have ever not seen one along there if you go at the right time of day, although nothing is ever guarenteed
cheers