Whilst I was in London yesterday afternoon the Barn Owl Conservation Trust made a surprise visit on their way back from a call in Norfolk.  With assistant and ladder the expert inspected the barn, the cart barn and nesting boxes and made the following pronouncements. The nesting box in the cart barn holds a clutch of abandoned eggs from stock doves ( who are notoriously bad parents) and the nesting box outside of the low barn houses a pair of stock doves who, we hope, will not leave their eggs.  The pellets on the ground in the cart barn are from the barn owl who roosts there, but

our barn owls are actually living in a hollow in the tree by the gate which is why, the other evening, we saw the male fly out of the hole. When the chicks are weaned they will have to leave the nest and find their own territory probably quite far away.

When I returned from London we sat on the swing seat,drinking a beer, and Jeremy related all the news about the birds. Then,as if on cue, the barn owl came flying low over the field with a vole in its talons, circled the house and made for the hollow in the tree by the gate. End of story…..for now.