Flying Jewel Not Ghost Owl

The day dawned beautifully clear and sunny. A mate had suggested that it would be easier to get decent shots of the barn owl on a cloudless evening. I got to Amwell Nature Reserve at three and on the way to the hide togged wildfowl skating on the ice. I expected the hide to be busy but there was only the guy who I had met there the other night with his young friend and a couple of other people.

The atmosphere was quite convivial as we waited. Any slight movement had us on the alert, we kept mistaking cars on the road in the distance for the owl. I repeatedly tweaked my settings, trying them out on anything that moved. To everyone's delight I spotted a kingfisher. I was at a different angle to the others, who had now been joined by a few more people. I was in two minds about posting the above pic as it isn't very good but it's not every day that one manages to capture a flying jewel.

The ghost owl arrived eventually but much later than it has before, so the benefit of the clear sky was cancelled out by its tardiness. I got some pics but they weren't up to scratch. I had been standing with one leg up on the bench for ages to make a tripod with my thigh to steady my camera and also so that I could shoot over the young guy's head. As I was shooting, soon after the owl appeared, he jumped up and said, "I've seen what I wanted to see" and left. That lost me a few shots. Also I had switched to 6.5 m - infinity, the bird came quite close and I think I lost because of that. I'm determined to get a decent image of the gorgeous ghostly bird in flight eventually.