Barn owl in my garden!

[SamLouise]

Sorry, no pic  :(

My son phoned me at work to tell me there was a barn owl sitting on the back fence post!  I know for some it's probably not that interesting but we live in a very built up urban-ish area and our back garden backs on to quite big array of houses behind us.  I'm lucky to get blue tits in the garden these days, never mind an owl!  About 200yrds frontwards there's a cycle track (again, leading to more houses, shops etc) but somewhere in the middle of all this mess there's allotments.  Anyway, why would he have ventured into such a busy built up area I wonder?  Anybody have any ideas?  It was around 3.30pm so the light was just starting to go.  Perhaps just passing through?  

Even though I didn't see it myself, I'm really pleased (silly, huh?) I've been a bird watcher for so many years and only managed to see a barn owl in flight once and now I find one was right outside my back door!

[SamLouise]

[BornAgainGardener]

That's great. I can understand your excitement. Recently I opened our curtains to discover a heron sitting by my pond eying up the sticklebacks. We made eye contact before it flew away. Herons are not an unusual sight around here, due to the close proximity of lakes, but I was thrilled nonetheless, and  I wouldn't have thought that it would be interested in sticklebacks. I hope you get to see the owl yourself.

[lorna]

Can just imagine your excitement Samantha. I keep hoping I will get a Robin in my garden, only seen one in the garden in 20 years.

[Digeroo]

Possibly a good source of mice.  Houses, shops, allotments, perfick for mice. But maybe rats. I  love it when I see a barn owl in the headlights of the car. 

Saw a thrush on the lawn, first for many years.  Perhaps it will get on with eating the snails.

[Paulines7]

Sam Louise

I would be pleased too to know that a barn owl was in my back garden.  Keep an eye out for it as birds tend to use the same posts so he or she could be back again. I bet there are plenty of mice in the nearby allotments.

[Robert_Brenchley]

There's a small pond next to my site where there's nothing bigger than a stickleback, except when amphibians are breeding. Herons are on it regularly.

[BornAgainGardener]

There's a small pond next to my site where there's nothing bigger than a stickleback, except when amphibians are breeding. Herons are on it regularly.

Of course, I wasn't thinking about the many frogs and toads. I just thought 'there's not much on a stickleback!'

[aussiedigger]

How wonderful!  We have woods at the back of us and sometimes hear an owl (or maybe a pair?)  Not sure what sort, and have never seen it / them.   

We have quite a few birds visiting our garden now it is established (and it is quite messy a lot of the time) - tits, robins, wrens, black birds, occasionally thrushes and our biggest excitement recently - a greater spotted wood pecker.  We are thrilled to bits. 

We spend hours watching them - good excuse to sit and look out the window!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

If it was kee-wicking, it was probably a Tawny, or two Tawnies if it was hooting. Barn owls scream like an animal in agony, you can't miss them.

[aussiedigger]

Thanks Robert - in that case, we've definitely had a barn owl in the past.  The first time I heard it I was out in the back yard on slug patrol (torch and sharp scissors in hand) and heard the most awful noise - truly like something being murdered.  I shot inside and slammed the door shut behind me!  After I'd stopped hyperventilating, logic returned and I concluded it must have been an owl.  Really shook me though!!

The current ones do more of a wooooooo followed by a wit-woooooo - well, that's what is sounds ike to me!  I've spent hours scanning the trees with binoculars in daylight hours but haven't seen them.  Nice to know they are around though. 

[Robert_Brenchley]

The first was a barn owl - I've known people get realy alarmed by them - and the second two tawnies calling to each other.

[Carol]

Thats great Sam.  Our house is on the flight path for the barn owl en route to the field behind us.  I do hear it screeching at nights and I would just love for it to land on my fence.  Hope he/she returns.

;D ;D

[aussiedigger]

The first was a barn owl - I've known people get realy alarmed by them - and the second two tawnies calling to each other.

Robert - thanks for the info, knowing what I'm hearing and looking for is really helpful, not to mention exciting - two types of owls!!

As for 'alarmed' - I sure was!  I nearly had a heart attack!  The closest I could come to describing it was 'worse than a peacock being strangled' - and I knew there wouldn't be any peacocks in there!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I used to go birdwatching on Goss Moor in Cornwall, and there was a pair roosting in a derelict building for ages. I used to collect the pellets and see what they'd been eating. Then we had several days of very cold weather and heavy snow. It does happen occasionally, even in Cornwall. Barn owls can't hunt in snow, and many of them starve. The last I saw of them was one hunting in broad daylight, over snow. It saw me and flew off, looking directly back over its its shoulderblades at me.