Storm clouds were gathering tonight, so before the rain hit I took a trip to check up on the Barn Owl nest and see how they were doing in the middle of the awful weather we have been having. Before I even saw them I heard them, two chicks screeching for food, but no sign of the adult bird. I assume the adult was out hunting, but I didn’t see it before rain stopped play. The Screeching of the two chicks filled the old Quarry, matched in volume by the Peregrines joining in at the far end, it was a wonderful atmosphere with the skies filling with storm clouds and tinge of red sunset mixed in.
At the top of the cliffs looking down and doubtless wondering what all the noise was there was a lone Roe Deer, just standing watching, before jumping the fence and disapearing into the fields beyond. I didnt see the third chick, it might have been in the nest rather than at the entrance like the other two, or it might have fledged, the missing one certainly is the biggest of the three.
I will return when the weather allows and try and see just how many are left, tonight was a fleeting visit but a great one with such atmospheric conditions.
