Ethel

I went to the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey with my dad. My work colleagues had bought me a voucher for my last birthday and it was the first opportunity where clear skies coincided with my dad's car being available so I drove down there. Being January some animals were hibernating, like the snakes, hedgehogs etc, but there were a fair number of animals out and about. The Scottish wildcats were beautiful and it made a change not to be taking photos of domestic cats. I really liked the harvest mice too, they are so tiny and agile. The polecats were entertaining to watch and one of the otters emerged to be fed.

The highlight of the day was probably the owl show. The owls were supposed to be displaying flying but most of them preferred to sit and have their photos taken. They had a snowy owl called Hedwig, a tawny owl, a barn owl, a long eared owl and a European Eagle Owl, Ethel, pictured here. It was a great opportunity to see the owls up close and take some photos. I'll definitely have to go back later in the year when it's warmer and there are more animals around.