Christmas Eve

Juvenile barn owls -
licensed bird ringing

Day 175 #365DaysWild

Damp but not yet raining. Drizzle is forecast as is the warmest Christmas Eve on record. 14C.

A barn owl on patrol over the fields. Mocha. Their feathers lack waterproofing to enable soundless flight. Elegant aerial gymnastics. They must have been especially badly affected by the wet weather of the last few months, being unable to hunt in wet conditions. They can die quickly if their feathers become waterlogged.

What I perceived as a gorgeous pre-breakfast bonus may have been a starving bird driven to hunting in the daylight between showers.