Without (much) hesitation, and with a weather forecast giving a bright Sunday morning until around lunchtime, when my brother suggested a 04:30 hrs start to see if we could spot the Barn Owl we had spotted on the South Downs a few weeks earlier, it was a “go”!
As we left for the half-hour drive, it was already getting light. However, a noticeable chill was in the air, so I opted for a fleece over a waterproof jacket.
25 years ago, the Government were stating they were going to bury the electricity cables in places of natural beauty such as national parks, well it never happened and we are told more pylons will be needed to link solar farms to the national grid as they are too expensive to go underground. I see WordPress now has an AI section, so I asked it to generate a picture of Pylons at Stonehenge! {NB-1st and last time I will post a A1 picture}
Sadly, no Barn Owl was out morning hunting, but good numbers of Brown Hares were about.
The next hare was a Rabbit!
Turning to head back, rain clouds were heading in. All the crows just landed, sadly, I missed them in the air as it was a great sight with that sky.
With a few rather interested in us, Hereford Cattle, we took a wide detour off the footpath close to farm buildings.
This allowed us the opportunity to look into the barn where we had seen the Owl in flight previously.
Looking through a hole in the barn wall (marked with a yellow arrow) was the Barn Owl on the other side, fast asleep. Obviously, despite our early start, it was not early enough!
Continued Reflections from my World. 
Lovely photos of what must have been a memorable trip.
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Sometimes going out at a different time of day is worth the getting up early.
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Still fun to see the Barn Owl fast asleep! You can really see the difference in size of the hare and the rabbit and I guess they were just as happy that the Barn Owl was asleep. That’s a beautiful sunrise. Thumbs down to the idea of pylons at Stonehenge. Surely they can make an extension for a historical/tourist attraction like Stonehenge. The cows look curious.
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Our Barn owls would only go for a mouse size lunch. Major places like Stone henge will be safe but sadly not the countryside and places with great vistas.
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Really? I wasn’t sure what size prey they targeted. I saw a photo of a Horned Owl that went after a rabbit just as a fox caught the rabbit and the owl pulled both the fox and rabbit up in the air with its talons – finally the fox let go! National Parks and nature habitats should be off limits.
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I will add a link Linda. The RSPB site is good for info on UK birds it gives size wingspan etc. https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/barn-owl
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Thank you for the link Andy – that was interesting. They are attractive birds with their coloring and heart-shaped face. I like the second picture with the head tilt especially. Very cute. Interesting that they lost a lot of barn owls due to pesticides … mice/voles running through the sprayed fields and the owls preying on them most likely. I hope you and Simon get another opportunity to find/photograph that barn owl.
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Getting up early is always a roll of the dice. Owls are very hard to get a glimpse of……as you know well I’m sure.
Great effort and shots Andy!
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