PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Friday 6 July 2012

A Barn Owl and Friday's Fences









A beautiful Barn Owl swooping around the field looking for food for her hungry family.






I was an awfully long way off, but I managed to snatch a couple of shots.    It was the middle of the afternoon and a quite unexpected sight - a real treat.   The fence is wooden with an inner fence of wire.





I also managed to capture this image as she swooped around the other side of the large field.  This side of the meadow has simple wire and post fencing.





I am delighted to be joining Jan and Jer for Friday's Fences.
For a wide ranging selection of wonderful fences just click on the link.

59 comments:

  1. Wow-what fantatic luck to get these shots with your camera Elaine-well done you!!

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    1. Hello Green Dragonette, It was sheer luck; such an exciting moment though!

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  2. It is unusual to see a barn owl in the daylight, lucky you.

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    1. Hello cuby poet, It certainly made a nice change from wood pigeons!

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  3. How exciting to get that barn owl with wings outstretched!

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    1. Hello Lesley, I was thrilled to bits when I saw the image on the photographs.

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  4. What an amazing opportunity to see one in the daytime - and be lucky enough to get it flying!

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    1. Hello Linda, I stared quite hard for a moment, not believing what I could see.. and only then did I think to switch the camera on!

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  5. How special, sure it made your day, brilliant pictures. x

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    1. Hello Cheryl, I was absolutely thrilled and delighted to see it...I have spotted it a couple of times since.

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  6. oh, wow ... you got an owl in flight. too cool!! i thought they usually were out during dark times. evening & such. awesome. (:

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    1. Hello Beth, It was a wow moment! She was silent and strong, an owl on a mission to feed her young.

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  7. Oh, she's beautiful...what a thrill!
    Jane x

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    1. Hello Jane, It definitely makes it one of my most enjoyable walks - the trouble is I am forever scanning the sky now. I keep forgetting to look at the flowers and appreciate their brief beauty.

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  8. Great shots of the barn owl! She is a beauty!!

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    1. Hello Judy, She really is quite magnificent. I was thrilled to see her.

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  9. What a beautiful owl, great photos. Have a nice friday.

    Hugs
    Elna

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    1. Hello Elna, Thank you so much. Enjoy your weekend.

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  10. Great photo's of the barn owl.
    She's gorgeous!

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    1. Hello Elli, It was such a special treat to see her like that and I was very surprised that I had managed to capture the images!

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  11. I can just feel your adrenaline rush...how exciting n great shots!

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    1. Hello Jan n Jer, It was thrilling, such a really beautiful bird!

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  12. The barn owl is just a thrill. I've seen an owl on a fence occasionally, in the morning driving to work. No chance of a picture, and certainly never a picture like this. Good job.

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    1. Hello Joanne, I'd forgotten my specs...so I pointed and clicked, then hoped for the best! I saw her again a couple of days ago, when I visited Arnold - she flew through his paddock and into an adjoining garden. No photo that time! I'll keep trying.

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  13. Lovely pictures! I haven't seen or heard a barn owl for years. You were lucky to be there at just the right time. :o)

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    1. Hello Doohie, It really was very exciting and totally unexpected. I keep scanning the skies and I have spotted her a couple of times since - I think she must have some very hungry babies!

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  14. First off Elaine, so happy for you that the "Silver Fox" (hair is just fine-no cut needed!) is safely home from China for a visit. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time together. What are you cooking for him?

    How fortunate you were to be out roaming when the barn owl chose to be out. Is this unusual? Thought they were night hunters. The only thing that I've experienced like this is two large hawks resting in a tree in my suburban backyard last fall. They stayed long enough to pose for a photo.

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    1. Hello Faye, It is wonderful to have Jonny home - haircut or no! I have done lots of his old favourites - bangers and mash, home-made fishcakes, baked ham, curry, etc and bowls of my magic green soup! Apple pie, cookies, scones, chocolate cake...

      The owls are usually night hunters but I think she must have a hungry and demanding nest of owlets to feed...I suppose she was doing the equivalent of a human mother having to get up to do night feeds. I wonder whether owls feel the same way about sleep deprivation!

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  15. How many kinds of owls do you have around Owl Wood? That one is real doozy!

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    1. Hello Ms Sparrow, We had a pair of tawny owls raise three young owls a couple of years ago - that was thrilling.

      The barn owl flies alongside our fence, through the next door neighbours garden, into Arnold's paddock and round the meadow where the fish ponds are. John the beekeeper tells me that it is nesting in that wonderful old dovecote at Belleau, which I showed you a while ago.

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  16. Oh I love owls. I spent many evening watching a live feed in an owl box a few years ago. I became so attached. They are amazing birds. You were in the right place at the right time.

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    1. Hello Bonnie, That must have been really interesting. They are beautiful birds and I count myself so lucky to have seen her like that. Amazingly quiet - and quite unlike those noisy wood pigeons!

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  17. We used to have a barn owl that used to perch on one of the farm buildings. He doesn't come any more. They're beautiful birds.

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    1. Hello Molly, The Tawny Owls which we had in the wood were gorgeous, and I love to hear them out and about in the evening, but seeing the Barno Owl swooping around was one of those magic moments.

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  18. Oh, Love that barn owl...with a beautiful fence in the background.

    Don't they look like big old bomber planes diving around. Actually, I guess the big old bombers don't dive like they do.

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    1. Hello Rose, It was sheer luck that I caught it like that, I can see what you mean about bomber planes!

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  19. Great photos!
    For a few years we used to have a barn owl fly across our fields in the afternoon (presumably when it was nesting). Sadly I haven't seen it for the last two years.

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    1. Hello Georgia, Lucky you - that must have been wonderful to see. Let's hope you have another one take up residence, or at least patrol, around your fields.

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  20. very pretty fence
    the owl is fantastic

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    1. Hello Dianne They really are impressive birds. I was thrilled to see her.

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  21. I can only imagine how you felt when you got the "bonus" shots of this beautiful creature while photographing the fence...which is also unique. I know I was pretty lucky when I got a photograph of a red-headed woodpecker one day. Great bird watching! XOXO

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    1. Hello Susan, I was so happy to see the owl - I really didn't think I had managed to capture the images - so you can imagine my delight when I found that my wild point and click photography had actually worked!xx

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  22. I'm so impressed that you caught the owl in flight!

    Causeway Fence

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    1. Hello Magical Mystical Teacher, Mother Nature gave me a treat that day.

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  23. I don't think I've seen a Barn Owl for years. I used to see them a lot in Shropshire. Our recently acquired Tobacco drying barn has all the signs that they were/are in residence, so I'm going to have to build an outdoor box for them. Well done on the photos.... not easy!

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    1. Hello Cro, I'm sure your owl box will be a very "des res" and quickly let. You would have laughed if you'd seen me belatedly scrabble for the camera then realise I had no specs with me so I pointed and clicked blindly...luckily it paid off!

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  24. How lucky you were to see the barn owl and capture it in flight.
    Great pictures.

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    1. Hello Grandma Barb, I was definitely lucky that day. It was very special.

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  25. I try so hard to find an owl or a hawk, but mostly all I find are sparrows. ;) Great find and lucky you!
    Rubbish by Roan

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    1. Hello Roan, We have lots of annoying wood pigeons around here - this owl was a lovely and unexpected delight, I was very happy that day!

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  26. Lovely to see your barn owl - thanks for sharing :) Maggie xx

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    1. Hello Maggie, I was so happy to see it - and then to be able to get a photograph, made it a memorable day for me.

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  27. What a beauty....my most favourite of birds. We do get them here but I have never been able to capture them with my camera. Well done.

    I can just imagine your happiness.

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    1. Hello Cheryl, It was all pure luck - and it was on my side that day. It was one of those days - I could hardly believe it when I put the camera disk in the computer and found I had managed to snatch those shots.

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  28. I adore barn owls! YOu are so lucky to have one near you. The photos are great!

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    1. Hello Natalie, It was one of those thrilling and unexpected gifts from Mother Nature. She is a beauty - I find myself constantly scanning the skies for her!

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  29. Oh, how exciting! (I saw a house sparrow this morning...)

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    1. We don't see many of those around here!

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  30. Hi Elaine....sorry to be so late in commenting. Wow, what a respone to your post! And, what a great job in photographing "our friend". You must read in-between the lines for this one.

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