The other day I went out for a walk in the woods without my heavy camera as my back was hurting. Of course that would be the day I catch my first sighting of a tawny owl in over two years. I glimpsed a largish brown shape swooping into a nearby tree and I wondered if it could be an tawny or brown owl. So I crept closer to the tree scanning it carefully. At first I didn’t see anything and was about to give up but then I spotted the head of an owl peering down at me from a fork in the branches. Its narrow dark eyes locked onto me as I gazed up at it for what seemed a good minute. Then suddenly it swept noiselessly down into a denser part of the woodland.
So the next day I returned to the woodland with my trusty long lens nicknamed the FBL or “Flipping Big Lens”. I scanned all of the trees around me and noticed a lighter patch on the bark of one of the pine trees. When I looked more closely I realised that it was the tawny owl, hiding “in plain sight”, perfectly camouflaged against the bark.
This time it seemed to be peacefully sleeping and unaware of my presence. I took some photos and then wandered off, feeling delighted to have seen and photographed it.
Further surprises awaited just off the path. Always looking around me I noticed two woolly shapes in amongst branches of a bush to my left. I zoomed in on the shapes with my camera and was thrilled to see the shapes transform into two sleepy downy owlets! I’d never ever seen owlets before. One of them seemed to be watching me and following my slow motion movements.
I took some photos of them, that’s them at the top of this page! They were a good 7 metres away from me and I didn’t go any closer to them. What a privilege to witness such wildlife wonders in my local wood. Then I left them in peace, mindful not to disturb them any more.
1st May 2020
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 