Barn Owl Hunting
I have been visiting the North Staffordshire Moorlands for more years than I care to remember. As a teenager and then in my early twenties, I was an active climber and mountaineer. The gritstone edges of the Roaches were a favourite testing ground for many climbers, myself included.
These wild, heather-covered moorlands on the edge of the Peak District National Park are also an amazing place for wildlife. Parts of the moorlands are protected both nationally and internationally for their wildlife and rare wild habitats. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and forming part of the South Pennine Moor Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area, the Roaches consists of numerous internationally important habitats including blanket bog and upland moorland. There are also many specialist breeding and wintering birds such as curlew, red grouse and tree pipit on these moorlands.
Barn owls are one bird that can be found hunting over these moorlands. I have been watching and photographing one particular pair of barn owls at one location for several years. Setting up late in the afternoon, I waited for several hours before first one of these barn owls and then the second began hunting, quartering low over the land. Just before sunset, with the sun just above the horizon, I made this image of one of the barn owls as it hunted backlit by the setting sun.
Barn owl Image made with the Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S Lens at 840mm