Salt marsh barn owl

A magical morning listening to skylarks and watching a barn owl hunt across the marsh.

IMG_4456 - Version 7These watercolour sketches recall the owl as it worked its way from one end of Portbury marsh to the other – a beautiful sight on a beautiful June morning.

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Flying past the outer wall of Royal Portbury Dock which was silhouetted in a blue haze at the sunrise end of the marsh.

 

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At first light the dock was shrouded in mist but cleared gradually to reveal the oil tanker Marika in port.

 

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Looking toward the dockyard cranes and the prow of the Marika.

 

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Mid marsh with the Welsh coast and Denny Island in the background . . .

 

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. . . and with breakfast spotted.

 

IMG_4456 - Version 5 A fly past with the Denny Shoal buoy and a large industrial building on the Welsh side of the estuary in the background.

 

IMG_4449Last but not least a pencil sketch of a barn owl mobbed by magpies as seen on a dusk visit in January.

 

Useful link
For more about barn owl visit the RSPB website at: www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/barnowl/index.aspx

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2 Comments

  1. Hi! Loved the sketches. Reminds me of cold frosty mornings spent owl watching on the marshes near where I used to live.

    1. Thank you Richard for such a lovely comment and I am glad they brought back fond memories.

      I am looking forward to some more of those cold frosty mornings . . . and if I am lucky, to seeing owls again.

      Hilary

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