Owls of approval from the BBC
SOMETIMES people can be quite demanding about wildlife.
If someone has seen a kingfisher on a local riverbank, someone else will be annoyed if it isn’t still there when they turn up at the spot, three days later.
A freelance journalist once asked me where could she DEFINITELY see otters in the Lake District.
This was difficult as we didn’t have a troupe of performing otters waiting for visitors on a local mere.
Other people are much more reasonable and we saw that lovely Annabel Tiffin and her North West Tonight team down at one of our reserves recently, keen to see owls.
It was bright and sunny afternoon and quite cold, but the BBC team were just happy to be there filming deer and a kestrel, which was showing off over a river bank.
Barn owls and shorteared owls have ‘buzzed’ the reserve in winter for the past couple of years.
They have delighted photographers as they fly up and down the wet areas looking for small mammals.
The barn owl is everyone’s favourite, looking very much like a ghost with its heartshaped face, pure white feathers, golden back and silent flight.
It flies over fields and hedgerows at dawn and dusk and, once, one flew alongside my car as I drove along a dark country lane. I was over the moon. Flying over fields is known as quartering, as the owl slows down while flying over parts of the field.
The barn owl can hunt in the depth of night, with their stealthy and silent flight, their heart-shaped faces direct highfrequency sounds, enabling them to find mice and voles in the vegetation.
Barn owls have many nicknames including ‘Ghost owl’, ‘Church owl’ and ‘Screech owl’.
Unlike tawny owls they do not “too-wit” or “too-woo”, but let out a screech, a hiss or a snore, all quite unnerving in a dark wood or graveyard.
Dusk was very close and the patient NW Tonight team were still keen when a barn owl flew into view long enough to be filmed by the cameraman.
Minutes later a short-eared owl was spotted on a fence.
This magnificent creature posed for minutes before wafting its mighty wings and flapping towards us.
This caused great joy and a really nice piece on the evening news on Friday.
The BBC team seemed delighted that their cold wait was worthwhile.
Unlike the poor birder, with the long lens, who stomped over to us.
He said: “I have been here for five hours in the same spot.
“Just as I start to pack up the (beep) flew literally five feet above my head.”
Better luck next time.
To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www. lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust. org.uk.