The sun has come out in West Cumbria ! The weekend started off with an early morning walk from Parkside , near Cleator Moor, across the fields and down to Hen Beck at Wathbrow and then back home. The sun was coming up and the ground was fresh after all the rain we have had of late, but the fields were quiet with only a few House Martins flying low over the grass hunting for flies, and I followed a Grey Heron which just couldnt decide where it wanted to start its day fishing and was flying from one location to another.
In the distance were Hares, but too fast and too far away to catch on the camera, down at the river a lone Dipper was in the water looking for food and somewhere along the bank was a Kingfisher, I could hear it but despite my best efforts I just couldnt see it !
The sun remained out during the day so in the evening I took the chance to have a look at the Barn Owls and see what was going on. As I approached I could hear the chick calling out for food, and the adult was above the quarry cliffs quartering for prey. There is only one chick remaining in the nest now, so it looks like the other two have fledged, and this was proved to be the case when after 10 mins of watching the adult hunt, another Barn Owl flew over my head and landed in a crack in the rock on the other side of the quarry. The adult took its food back to the chick in the nest and over the next hour I watched three Barn Owls out and about flying, although I only ever saw the adult catch prey, it took two voles back to the nest, and ate one itself. Great to see two young Barn Owls flying about in the sunset, but it would be better if I saw them catch something !
On the drive back I quickly had to stop the car as there was a Roe Deer in the middle of the road, it quickly jumped into the fields and I was not quick enough to get anything but a fleeting picture before is disappeared into the woods.
