Bedraggled

This Peacock was one of three I saw on the blackthorn in the hedgerows near the house this afternoon. It was probably the most damaged of the trio - and certainly far more worn and torn than the individual I posted last Thursday - but it was the only one feeding at human height, and better still it was quite approachable. Here it was just in the process of winding in its proboscis, before moving on to another blossom cluster.

The best thing that happened today was also, in some ways, the most frustrating. I was at my desk just after dinner, when something flew along the lane past the house. I don't even know why I noticed it, given that the window is away to my left, and birds fly past all the time, but something made me glance up, and the combination of shape and colour as it glided into a tree and landed made me say "Owl!" I could just about see it among the branches, opposite the dividing line between our property and the one next door, but there's a telegraph pole growing through the tree* and both of them are covered in ivy, so it wasn't a great view. And my big lens was downstairs. So I scuttled down, veering into R's study, which is below mine, to see if there was a better view from there. There wasn't, and we were both peering over into the tree in frustration when the bird took off and swooped down towards us - revealing itself as it flew up the drive and disappeared to be a Barn Owl. 

I ran through to the back of the house, grabbing the camera as I went, but sadly there was no sign of it in the garden. While of course it was annoying not to have been able to photograph a Barn Owl in the garden, it was still a pretty magical moment - especially for R, who is not an owler and so usually has to rely on my photos to make him feel connected to these slightly ethereal birds.

* Joke. In case you were concerned.