Waiting for the sun to go down.

After a tip off of a possible Barn Owl sighting, I decided that a late evening spot of bird watching was on the cards. Along with two birdwatching friends of mine we set off to the location at 19.15.

While we waited for the sun to set we saw young Kestrels being fed by their parents, this was to be the support act for what was to follow.

As the sun set the three of us were very lucky to be all looking at the roosting hole as the owl took a peek outside for just a few seconds. After this it was agreed that the owl was indeed a Barn Owl and we also agreed on a five minute vow of silence (which was difficult to do with our excitement).

After about 15 minutes we made the decision to sit in the car and wait a while longer in the hope of a better and longer sighting.

At 22.05 the Barn owl walked on to the main stage, after a bit of foot cleaning, wing cleaning and a bit of wing stretching he/she left the hole only to land inside another to the left, however after a few more seconds spent preening and stretching the owl set off into the night and out of sight behind the building.