Berkshire wildlife hides

Berkshire wildlife hides Our Kingfisher hide is avaliable to book at www.berkshirewildlifehides.co.uk

15/06/2026

The barn owl youngsters are getting braver by the day.

Overnight there were two chicks out on the tray together, looking around and becoming more confident with the outside world. Then mum arrived with another vole delivery… but the welcome she got wasn’t quite what she expected. One of the chicks decided it was easier to just take the vole straight from her beak! The poor adult had barely landed before the youngsters were already causing chaos. It’s amazing watching the change happen. From tiny chicks hidden away in the box to now standing on the tray, competing for food and learning how to be barn owls.

The adults have done an incredible job raising them, with countless vole deliveries bringing them to this stage.

14/06/2026

The barn owl chicks are starting to show themselves more and more now.

After weeks of watching the adults bring in vole after vole, the chicks are finally getting brave enough to start appearing at the entrance hole and stepping out onto the tray.

They’re spending more time looking around, watching the world outside and getting used to their surroundings. I even think I’ve spotted a male and female now.

The adults are still doing an amazing job, with another 14 field voles delivered overnight after an incredible 32 the night before!

It won’t be long before these little ones are fully exploring the outside world… such an incredible thing to witness from a box I installed and monitored from the start.

12/06/2026

The moment we’ve been waiting for!!

After weeks of hearing the chaos inside the barn owl box, watching the adults bring in vole after vole, and seeing the chicks getting bigger every day… one of the youngsters finally made their first proper appearance at the entrance hole.

For a few seconds they just sat there looking out at the world, taking everything in, before dropping back down into the safety of the box.

It’s amazing to think how far they’ve come. From tiny chicks hidden away inside the box to now jumping, flapping and starting to explore the entrance.

The adults have been doing an incredible job, with some nights seeing 28 field voles delivered back to the box. All that food is clearly paying off as these youngsters are growing fast.

It won’t be long now before they’re stepping out onto the tray and getting their first proper look at the field they’ll soon be flying over.

The female barn owl flew straight towards me as the evening light faded, completely focused on the hunt. For a split sec...
09/06/2026

The female barn owl flew straight towards me as the evening light faded, completely focused on the hunt. For a split second everything came together – the owl, the light and the camera.

What makes this image even more special is thinking about how far this project has come.

When I first put up the barn owl boxes, I honestly hoped one might get used one day. Fast forward to now and I have a breeding pair raising chicks, regular hunting activity across the field, perch posts being used, and signs that every single nest box on the site has now been found by the owls.

The latest discovery was fresh pellets under another box in the old stable, suggesting it may be being used as a roost site too. Seeing the territory develop like this is incredibly rewarding.

The chicks are growing fast as well. They’re now flapping, jumping around inside the box and reaching almost to the entrance hole when they bounce up. It won’t be long before they’re peering out and thinking about their first flights.

The best part of all this isn’t just the photographs. It’s knowing that the habitat, nest boxes and years of effort are helping these incredible birds thrive.

berkshirewildlifehides

This barn owl drifted silently across the rough grass completely focused on the ground below. No dramatic hunting dive, ...
05/06/2026

This barn owl drifted silently across the rough grass completely focused on the ground below. No dramatic hunting dive, no prey in its talons, just a perfect head-on pass as it quartered through the long grass.

What makes moments like this even more special is knowing what’s happening back at the nest box.

The chicks are getting big now! Every time food arrives, the box erupts into absolute chaos. There is constant calling, wing flapping and what sounds like jumping around inside. One of the adults even had to make three attempts to leave the box the other night because it kept dropping back down amongst the youngsters!

After a poor night during the heavy rain, the adults made up for it in style last night, delivering an incredible 28 voles!! The amount of food going into the box right now is unbelievable.

The excitement levels are definitely building. The chicks are becoming more active by the day, and it feels like we’re getting closer to the stage where curious faces might start appearing near the entrance.

For now, the adults are working tirelessly and the youngsters are making sure everyone knows when the next meal arrives!

It’s amazing to think that what started as a simple nest box project has turned into watching a thriving barn owl family right here on the field.

Hopefully plenty more special moments to come over the next few weeks.


hotography


One thing I’ve learnt since the barn owls moved into my boxes is that every evening is different.Some nights they’re hun...
02/06/2026

One thing I’ve learnt since the barn owls moved into my boxes is that every evening is different.

Some nights they’re hunting hard from the moment they leave the box. Other nights they seem to drift across the field, taking their time, almost enjoying the last few minutes of daylight before work begins.

This image was taken during one of those moments.

The sun had dropped low enough to light up the underside of her wings while the woodland behind had already fallen into shadow. For a split second she seemed to glow against the darkness, completely silent as she crossed the field.

What I love most about barn owls isn’t just the hunting. It’s these moments in between. The moments where they remind you why they’ve fascinated people for generations.

At the time I was simply hoping for a few photographs. Now I’m standing in a field watching a successful breeding pair raise a family, learning something new almost every day.

Even after all the hours I’ve spent with them so far, seeing a barn owl appear out of nowhere and float across the landscape still stops me in my tracks.

Looks like the barn owl wasn’t the only thing enjoying the cooler evening. While I was waiting for the owls to appear, t...
31/05/2026

Looks like the barn owl wasn’t the only thing enjoying the cooler evening.

While I was waiting for the owls to appear, this male muntjac stepped out into the long grass and wildflowers and completely stole the show for a few minutes.

Identified by the small antlers and the distinctive dark markings running down his face. Those dark “V” shaped facial lines are associated with scent glands that muntjac use for communication and marking territory. For such a small deer, they have a surprisingly complex way of letting other muntjac know who’s around.

I always enjoy watching them in the field, I think it’s their character that makes them so interesting. One minute they’re quietly feeding through the grass, the next they’re standing staring straight at you as if they’re trying to work out what you’re doing there.

The field is looking fantastic at the moment too. The long grass and daisies that have developed over the last couple of years are not only helping the voles and barn owls, but are creating a much richer habitat for everything else that calls the field home.

Been a really interesting week watching how much the heat changed the owls behaviour.During the hottest evenings they we...
29/05/2026

Been a really interesting week watching how much the heat changed the owls behaviour.

During the hottest evenings they were coming out much later, hunting shorter periods. You could tell they were conserving energy and waiting for conditions to improve.

Now temperatures have started dropping slightly, everything has changed again almost overnight. The hunting intensity has picked right back up, prey deliveries are increasing and the box has suddenly become LOUD!

Every time a vole arrives now it sounds like absolute chaos in there… hissing, banging around and chicks all competing for food at once. Safe to say the youngsters are growing fast 😁

These two images were taken as the female worked the field again in much cooler evening conditions. One perched briefly watching the grass below before dropping straight back into hunting mode.

It’s honestly amazing seeing how quickly barn owls adapt their routine depending on conditions, and even better knowing the field and rough grass is supporting them properly now.

That warm evening light, long grass and silent glide just sums up what the last few months have been about for me.A coup...
25/05/2026

That warm evening light, long grass and silent glide just sums up what the last few months have been about for me.

A couple of years ago this field was cut short and looked almost lifeless. Now it’s full of rough grass, voles, wildflowers and — somehow — a nesting pair of barn owls raising chicks right here. Watching that transformation happen has honestly been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with wildlife.

This female has completely changed her routine over the last few days because of the heatwave. Instead of the earlier evening hunts she was doing recently, she’s now staying out hunting much later through the night and into the cooler early mornings. Even after delivering 20+ voles overnight, she’ll often spend hours sitting on the tray and camera mount at sunrise trying to keep cool before temperatures climb again.

This image was taken in very low light as she drifted silently through the long grass hunting for another vole. No baiting, no disturbance — just natural behaviour in habitat that’s been left to recover naturally over time.

Hopefully once the cooler weather returns and the owls settle back into a more predictable routine, I can slowly begin introducing a small number of carefully managed photography sessions from the field. The welfare of these birds will always come first, but being able to eventually share moments like this with a few other photographers would be something pretty special.

Out in the field early this morning before the heat built up, enjoying the cool air and watching the barn owl working th...
24/05/2026

Out in the field early this morning before the heat built up, enjoying the cool air and watching the barn owl working the rough grass at first light.

Very low light conditions for these flight shots, but moments like this make the early starts worthwhile. Watching a wild barn owl appear silently out of the darkness and drift across the field never gets old.

A special morning with the female flying naturally across the field.

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Brimpton
RG74RT

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