August 11, 2024 at 8:44 pm
For the male Barn Owl breeding time is his most demanding time of the year.For four months he has to provide all the food for the female and their young.I have never spent as much time filming any species as I have on my pair of Barn Owls as they have five young about to fledge necessitating constant demands for Voles, Shrews and Mice. Not every filming session was successful and I have spent long hours looking at an empty field or dodging the farmers cattle!!
August 4, 2024 at 6:22 pm
It is now ten years since I last filmed Barn Owls in summer but I had not forgotten how spectacular they are as they hunt at sunset on a summer evening. Technically they give you lots of problems being white birds against a shadowy background and they never fly where you want them to!! However, I have just spent four months in the company of a pair of Barn Owls picking off shots of these ghosts as they carry out their crepuscular activities. More to follow next week!!
July 25, 2024 at 10:39 am
Now is the time during your walks in the Pennine forests to listen out for a sound that you will only ever hear at this time of year. It is the hunger calls of recently fledged Long Eared Owls and resembles that of a creaking gate. I have spent most of early summer filming in these forests , so this week we will concentrate on the young owls and next week the adults.