63
Bird watching WITH JOHN ASHTON Pouncing feet-first
Heart-shaped facial disc on a captive bird. Translucent wings
John has long written for our sister magazine The Post about his passion for birdwatching. He lives at Aveton Gifford and is a gifted wildlife artist - see https://
www.artashton.w.uk/ His pictures often feature in his articles.
Y
our first glimpse of a BARN OWL may be of a silent, wavering spectre floating
through the gathering darkness of dusk or in the mists of dawn. The bird will buoyantly flap and hover in the gloom using its incredible hearing rather than its eyesight to detect the slightest movement of any concealed prey. The feathered facial disc acts rather like a satellite- dish focusing sounds into the huge, asymmetrical ear-openings ensuring that the slightest rustle will result in its prey being pounced upon with unerring accuracy. Barn Owls have a soft downy
plumage which enables silent flight. The long sturdy legs are feathered right down to the toes which are furnished with needle sharp claws. The fur and bones of creatures
devoured are regurgitated as “pellets” which can dissected to show exactly what was on the menu. Rats and mice form the majority of a barn owl’s diet. During its long lifetime, a 15 year old bird can scoff 11,000 mice, which could have destroyed 13 tons of grain. No wonder they are “the farmer’s friend” and as such are often welcomed into barns, where suitable holes for access and nesting are provided. Barn owls have given many an old ruin or church steeple a reputation for being haunted due to their unearthly cries. The typical note is a loud, drawn-out, eerie shriek, but they also have a repertoire of chuckling noises and a sound similar to snoring. Modern barn owls had a
Binoculars Chased off by a crow
www.king–
print.co.uk
remarkable ancestor. Numerous remains have been found in Pleistocene cave deposits of a tremendous barn owl which was the size of a goldeneagle and fed on rodents the size of spaniels!
KITE DROPPING A RAT
Many thanks to Richard Moore for these superb photos, all taken locally.
Cruising at grass-top height
in association with Scopes
Instore, Online or Mobile
Top of the Town, Fore Street, Kingsbridge, Devon. TQ7 1PP
Photos Tel: (01548) 856757
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
