Barn Owl #28

The forecast this morning was for sunshine and very light winds - perfect for a spot of early morning owling. 
I was at Lunt Meadows before 7am and it was cold, but just glorious with some lovely morning light and barely a breath of wind. As I pulled up to the parking area outside the reserve, I spotted a barn owl quartering the field in front of me, but by the time I had stopped the car, picked up my camera and jumped out of the car, it had gone down. I walked along the track a little and waited, but all I saw was a pair of roe deer looking gorgeous in the golden hue of the morning. I took a few shots, knowing that I would have a blip, even if I didn't see anything else and continued on over the road into the reserve. It was deserted and it was about 90 minutes before I saw anyone else. I was surprised as I expected that there would be more photographers, given the good weather. 
I wandered over to the kingfisher screen and the river Alt area and had nice sightings of Mrs Kestrel - in her usual tree, more Roe deer, and a Marsh Harrier, but no owls. It was around 8.15am before I saw my first barnie, way over the back by the river bank. Then another one appeared close by, but not very close to where I was positioned. I waited a bit longer before heading towards where the owls had shown and eventually they surfaced again, but still too far away. I was frustrated not to get any shots, but it was just lovely watching them glide lazily across the landscape. One headed way over towards the farm, and as it was gone 9am I thought it had probably given up for the morning. I didn't see that one again. The other one was still in the distance hunting and I did manage to get a bit closer before it headed towards the river. This was the best I could do, but I quite like it anyway, backlight by the sun. I will probably try again in the next few days. A successful morning overall I'd say.