Last night when arrived home who should we encounter in the driveway than a gorgeous owl. I have on occasions seen owls at the farm, but not very often so I’m always a little excited when they do make a visit. I guess you know that most owls are nocturnal, so it’s pretty hard to photograph these little guys. Sadly I couldn’t get one of my own, my camera doesn’t work in the dark (if anyone knows of a camera that would work in that application let me know!) But after a bit of scanning on Google, I think our visitor was either a Barn Owl – he certainly looked like this one (courtesy of Canberra Birds) and they are known to be local in the area – or a masked owl like this one (courtesy of NSW Dept of Climate & Environment:
Apart from their beautiful features and the mystique that is associated with owls, I like to see owls about the farm because they eat the mice and help keep their numbers down. That’s exactly what I think this one was up to – it’s nearly a full moon at the moment and in the moonlight it’s easy for the hunters to find their prey.
When we slowed down to take a look at him he flew off from the post he was perching on and to the other side of the paddock.
So what do you think of this guy – are you a fan?