I wonder if in the past people thought they were seeing ghosts when in fact they were seeing ghostly barn owls. Barn owls have the latin name Tyto alba meaning white owl. Their feathers are white underneath and a golden caramel colour on top. I’ve been trying to photograph them at dusk but when the light is good they have been far away and any close up shots have been taken at very low light levels.
The following photographs show one flying past me just after sunset, silhouetted against the sky.
The next photos show them with the exposure altered during image editing.
One evening, well over an hour after sundown I was lucky enough to see two together come swooping around the barns where I was standing. They saw me and circled round screeching before flying off over the fields. It’s quite unnerving hearing their screeches! You can see how they look quite ghostly, their large eyes like eyehole sockets in skulls. When they look directly at you its quite unnerving.
Another evening one flew swiftly off to a far corner of the field. The light was good for photographs but it was too far off for any close up shots. Nevertheless it was great to observe it quartering the field and hunting.
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 