We have owls around the farm and the screech of their night hunts - no doubt daunting for the shrews that scuttle around the old farm building - are grounding for us, the closest we have found ourselves to nature. We were in Portugal (Gouveia) for three months from mid December 2020, and Air BnB providing a haven when we couldn’t roam in our van. We were back - in Olhão - last Summer and we keep thinking there’s unfinished Portuguese business.
There is an ancient magic with owls. They are grounding, I agree—something both familiar and also utterly wild, especially as they are usually out at times we are not. Do they nest nearby?
I remember you saying that about Portugal. We loved Olhão, and were actually there, looking for a place to live, when we found the ad which took us back to Alentejo to view the apartment we would then take. Like yourselves, I think we probably also have unfinished Portuguese business.
I suspect we’ll try and get back to the Olhão area later in the year … Tavira was attractive too. We tend to love these places when there are fewer visitors (us aside 🤣) and there’s still warmth in the air. Perhaps October.
With the owl, there are several barns nearby, including ours. We’re not sure it nests in ours though there is one we’re never in so it would be pretty undisturbed.
Yes! Few visitors, real people and places. October is a great month in Portugal, especially in the south. We would get winds from the Atlantic at that time but, out of the wind, it was still warm and increasingly green after the baking summer.
Have you found any owl pellets? That’s something fun you could do with the Grandchildren one day (just disgusting enough for kids to love!), quite fascinating, taking them apart carefully and seeing what the owls have eaten!
Both this and your last essay were thoroughly enjoyable Alex, it is so good to see you publishing again on a regular basis, I find myself really looking forward to the next, and then the next...
I sat for almost ten minutes two mornings ago, (mostly to gauge the severity of the downpour and whether I had time to run down to the sheep before it worsened or whether to just wait and drink another coffee the latter won) out on the terrace, it was around 7am, maybe a little before, while I sat there I listened to barn owls calling, one from the oak trees above, the other from the ash trees just a little below me. I am uncertain if they were a male and a female acting out some sort of spring mating tradition or whether they were territorial warnings? Whichever it was, I was glued to my seat!
Since then, I've heard them twice more so I am really hoping they are a pair, that they will nest in my barn again.
I hope you're having better weather there than we are? We are on day one of a forecast that says three days of torrential rain... I am not amused!
I shall keep all fingers and toes crossed that they do net in your barn! I’d love that—we have occasional bats, and other rodents, up in our loft/attic space, as well as a stone marten visiting, not to mention a rather serious longhorn beetle infestation at present—but no owls. I saw one recently from Ailsa’s bedroom window, which was the first I’ve seen here. Heard lots, but never seen them.
Thank you for your words here, I’ve missed that, a lot. I’m so happy you are enjoying these pieces, too—I’m enjoying sharing them, as it reminds me of those moments.
Oh, and yes! Terrible rain and wind here. We’re the first tranche of holidays, so poor Ailsa is stuck unable to play outside, although she’s with Mamine this week, so is having a super time regardless. The main road here, from January to March, are terrible at the weekends, with all the switchover ski traffic, so we rarely manage to go anywhere, apart from up the mountain to the snow, which I suppose is a fair trade. I think the rain is snow up there, but it is rather warm here, so perhaps now yet. It is forecast for the weekend though (Ailsa has a ski lesson for evaluation, so I hope it’s not too snowy then!)
Thanks again, I hope your own break is as restful as possible(was surprised to be reminded that, in Scotland, they only get three days off! Poor children, how do they cope?!).
Only three days!! Alex I would expire! I start counting days before the next holidays almost as soon as classes begin again! Three days is unthinkable, poor babies, poor teachers!
As for the owls, it is a rare year that we dont have at least one barn owl or tawny nesting inside. I look forward to them immensely, and feel terrible for waiting with such eagerness the day the owlets are kicked out of the nest! I will let you know…
The rain here this week has been the worst we’ve ever experienced in 20 years. When we first arrived there was talk of damning the valley to make a reservoir, (it never happened although I wish it had) after today I can see why the planners thought it feasible…in just one night the river at the bottom, usually no more than a ‘ruisseau’ became a lake covering three fields! At that rate it would barely take a month to have filled the valley!
I have often wondered just how diverse the wildlife would have been had they gone ahead with the plan?
Anyway, it was not to be, it’s still raining, and I have to take some hay to my sheep who are literally paddling in their field! x
PS, I hope Alisa has perfect snow conditions for her evaluation and, of course, the rain stops so holidays can be spent outside in the fresh air for us all!
There was a good thirty or more centimetres of snow up at the ski station last night, and it looks like a break in the snowfall tomorrow mornings so, fingers crossed, all will be well for Ailsa tomorrow! (I love waking to see the mountain freshly coated. No matter how many times it happens, it is a joy.)
Wow! 20 years! That is a lot of rain. Ours was heavy and insistent, but then cleared relatively quickly.
Our own ruisseau, or technically ruisseaux, as there's one to either side of the village, is small and usually leap-able if one wanted to, but both are also swift to change and thunder if there's rain on the mountain. We have signs telling people not to go down into them, as the level can rise rapidly (same with our river in the valley below, if they have to let water out from the dam further upstream, it can rise instantly). France does like her dams, and I do wonder if more will be built in coming years, simply as a way to try and clutch at whatever water we receive. That said, our reservoirs have been below their max for some years now, and the groundtable far below what it should be. Not much to be done about that, though.
I shall look forward to hearing about your owls! When I was younger, having read T.H. White's Merlin/Arthur stories, the urge to befriend an owl was strong. Sometimes, I still think about that--or a raven, perhaps. Have a good weekend--when are your own holidays? x
I occasionally see shadowy owls flying through my neighborhood at night. I suspect they are barn owls, but it's hard to tell in the dark. The red wing hawks are more common and much easier to spot in the daylight. My favorite urban animals are the red foxes I see from time to time on my walks.
Do you hear the owls too? That’s often how I tell them apart when I can’t see them well. Growing up, in Orkney, we pretty much only had one species of owl up there, the day-flying short-eared owl, who was much easier to see! Now, I hear so many hoots, hisses, rasps, and screams from the forest around us, but rarely see anything at all. Oh! And finding their pellets is also great, I have several in bags, awaiting dissection to see what they’ve been eating.
Red foxes have a special place in my heart, too. They are such characters, and always come across as wise and playful. I see their tracks, here, but they are mostly out at times I am not, and a lot more wary than their urban cousins (probably partly due to the wolves, who they avoid). Do you recognise different foxes? I used to love knowing who was in the neighbourhood, furry friends indeed.
I've only heard the owls a few times, though now that I think of it, there was a night when one was calling out for a while from the tree across the street. The foxes are easier to hear, though their calls are harder on the ears. I always see the foxes from a distance, so it's hard to tell one from another, but they always look well-fed.
Oh yes to the fox calls! I remember when I first heard, err, amorous foxes, it truly sounded like someone out in the woods was being murdered. Fortunately, I had read about this and put two and two together relatively quickly, but it was unnerving at the time!
I once watched a snowy owl and a fox hunting in tandem along a fence row, in deep snow. I'm not sure who was the primary hunter and who the secondary - logic says it was the owl, hunting by sound, who could track and catch the mouse or vole that escaped the fox's pounce - but it was clear they were working together - and wonderful - wonder-inducing - to watch.
This is truly wonderful. And awesome, in the correct manner. What an incredible thing to witness. I’ve only ever seen one wild snowy owl, in Orkney, but that stuck with me. As do the many fox encounters I’ve been lucky enough to share in. In the olden days, I used to smoke, and would often be sitting outside the shared house I lived in at that time, in Sheffield. There was a suburban fox who did the rounds at the same time every day, and I’d try to be outside on the doorstep for that as often as possible, as he would leap the tall fence on my right, trot around the yard, knowing I was there all the time, then head left. Sometimes, he would be sitting on the pavement outside the front of the house as I returned home from the pub. Just like an exasperated and concerned parent would. I miss that fox.
We have owls around the farm and the screech of their night hunts - no doubt daunting for the shrews that scuttle around the old farm building - are grounding for us, the closest we have found ourselves to nature. We were in Portugal (Gouveia) for three months from mid December 2020, and Air BnB providing a haven when we couldn’t roam in our van. We were back - in Olhão - last Summer and we keep thinking there’s unfinished Portuguese business.
There is an ancient magic with owls. They are grounding, I agree—something both familiar and also utterly wild, especially as they are usually out at times we are not. Do they nest nearby?
I remember you saying that about Portugal. We loved Olhão, and were actually there, looking for a place to live, when we found the ad which took us back to Alentejo to view the apartment we would then take. Like yourselves, I think we probably also have unfinished Portuguese business.
I suspect we’ll try and get back to the Olhão area later in the year … Tavira was attractive too. We tend to love these places when there are fewer visitors (us aside 🤣) and there’s still warmth in the air. Perhaps October.
With the owl, there are several barns nearby, including ours. We’re not sure it nests in ours though there is one we’re never in so it would be pretty undisturbed.
Yes! Few visitors, real people and places. October is a great month in Portugal, especially in the south. We would get winds from the Atlantic at that time but, out of the wind, it was still warm and increasingly green after the baking summer.
Have you found any owl pellets? That’s something fun you could do with the Grandchildren one day (just disgusting enough for kids to love!), quite fascinating, taking them apart carefully and seeing what the owls have eaten!
Mm, no owl pellets which I guess suggests they’re not nesting close by. I shall examine the ground more assiduously.
It’s handy, JoJo having a birthday in October, a reason to roam somewhere interesting.
Both this and your last essay were thoroughly enjoyable Alex, it is so good to see you publishing again on a regular basis, I find myself really looking forward to the next, and then the next...
I sat for almost ten minutes two mornings ago, (mostly to gauge the severity of the downpour and whether I had time to run down to the sheep before it worsened or whether to just wait and drink another coffee the latter won) out on the terrace, it was around 7am, maybe a little before, while I sat there I listened to barn owls calling, one from the oak trees above, the other from the ash trees just a little below me. I am uncertain if they were a male and a female acting out some sort of spring mating tradition or whether they were territorial warnings? Whichever it was, I was glued to my seat!
Since then, I've heard them twice more so I am really hoping they are a pair, that they will nest in my barn again.
I hope you're having better weather there than we are? We are on day one of a forecast that says three days of torrential rain... I am not amused!
I shall keep all fingers and toes crossed that they do net in your barn! I’d love that—we have occasional bats, and other rodents, up in our loft/attic space, as well as a stone marten visiting, not to mention a rather serious longhorn beetle infestation at present—but no owls. I saw one recently from Ailsa’s bedroom window, which was the first I’ve seen here. Heard lots, but never seen them.
Thank you for your words here, I’ve missed that, a lot. I’m so happy you are enjoying these pieces, too—I’m enjoying sharing them, as it reminds me of those moments.
Oh, and yes! Terrible rain and wind here. We’re the first tranche of holidays, so poor Ailsa is stuck unable to play outside, although she’s with Mamine this week, so is having a super time regardless. The main road here, from January to March, are terrible at the weekends, with all the switchover ski traffic, so we rarely manage to go anywhere, apart from up the mountain to the snow, which I suppose is a fair trade. I think the rain is snow up there, but it is rather warm here, so perhaps now yet. It is forecast for the weekend though (Ailsa has a ski lesson for evaluation, so I hope it’s not too snowy then!)
Thanks again, I hope your own break is as restful as possible(was surprised to be reminded that, in Scotland, they only get three days off! Poor children, how do they cope?!).
Only three days!! Alex I would expire! I start counting days before the next holidays almost as soon as classes begin again! Three days is unthinkable, poor babies, poor teachers!
As for the owls, it is a rare year that we dont have at least one barn owl or tawny nesting inside. I look forward to them immensely, and feel terrible for waiting with such eagerness the day the owlets are kicked out of the nest! I will let you know…
The rain here this week has been the worst we’ve ever experienced in 20 years. When we first arrived there was talk of damning the valley to make a reservoir, (it never happened although I wish it had) after today I can see why the planners thought it feasible…in just one night the river at the bottom, usually no more than a ‘ruisseau’ became a lake covering three fields! At that rate it would barely take a month to have filled the valley!
I have often wondered just how diverse the wildlife would have been had they gone ahead with the plan?
Anyway, it was not to be, it’s still raining, and I have to take some hay to my sheep who are literally paddling in their field! x
PS, I hope Alisa has perfect snow conditions for her evaluation and, of course, the rain stops so holidays can be spent outside in the fresh air for us all!
There was a good thirty or more centimetres of snow up at the ski station last night, and it looks like a break in the snowfall tomorrow mornings so, fingers crossed, all will be well for Ailsa tomorrow! (I love waking to see the mountain freshly coated. No matter how many times it happens, it is a joy.)
Wow! 20 years! That is a lot of rain. Ours was heavy and insistent, but then cleared relatively quickly.
Our own ruisseau, or technically ruisseaux, as there's one to either side of the village, is small and usually leap-able if one wanted to, but both are also swift to change and thunder if there's rain on the mountain. We have signs telling people not to go down into them, as the level can rise rapidly (same with our river in the valley below, if they have to let water out from the dam further upstream, it can rise instantly). France does like her dams, and I do wonder if more will be built in coming years, simply as a way to try and clutch at whatever water we receive. That said, our reservoirs have been below their max for some years now, and the groundtable far below what it should be. Not much to be done about that, though.
I shall look forward to hearing about your owls! When I was younger, having read T.H. White's Merlin/Arthur stories, the urge to befriend an owl was strong. Sometimes, I still think about that--or a raven, perhaps. Have a good weekend--when are your own holidays? x
I occasionally see shadowy owls flying through my neighborhood at night. I suspect they are barn owls, but it's hard to tell in the dark. The red wing hawks are more common and much easier to spot in the daylight. My favorite urban animals are the red foxes I see from time to time on my walks.
Do you hear the owls too? That’s often how I tell them apart when I can’t see them well. Growing up, in Orkney, we pretty much only had one species of owl up there, the day-flying short-eared owl, who was much easier to see! Now, I hear so many hoots, hisses, rasps, and screams from the forest around us, but rarely see anything at all. Oh! And finding their pellets is also great, I have several in bags, awaiting dissection to see what they’ve been eating.
Red foxes have a special place in my heart, too. They are such characters, and always come across as wise and playful. I see their tracks, here, but they are mostly out at times I am not, and a lot more wary than their urban cousins (probably partly due to the wolves, who they avoid). Do you recognise different foxes? I used to love knowing who was in the neighbourhood, furry friends indeed.
Many thanks for your words, I appreciate that!
I've only heard the owls a few times, though now that I think of it, there was a night when one was calling out for a while from the tree across the street. The foxes are easier to hear, though their calls are harder on the ears. I always see the foxes from a distance, so it's hard to tell one from another, but they always look well-fed.
Oh yes to the fox calls! I remember when I first heard, err, amorous foxes, it truly sounded like someone out in the woods was being murdered. Fortunately, I had read about this and put two and two together relatively quickly, but it was unnerving at the time!
I once watched a snowy owl and a fox hunting in tandem along a fence row, in deep snow. I'm not sure who was the primary hunter and who the secondary - logic says it was the owl, hunting by sound, who could track and catch the mouse or vole that escaped the fox's pounce - but it was clear they were working together - and wonderful - wonder-inducing - to watch.
This is truly wonderful. And awesome, in the correct manner. What an incredible thing to witness. I’ve only ever seen one wild snowy owl, in Orkney, but that stuck with me. As do the many fox encounters I’ve been lucky enough to share in. In the olden days, I used to smoke, and would often be sitting outside the shared house I lived in at that time, in Sheffield. There was a suburban fox who did the rounds at the same time every day, and I’d try to be outside on the doorstep for that as often as possible, as he would leap the tall fence on my right, trot around the yard, knowing I was there all the time, then head left. Sometimes, he would be sitting on the pavement outside the front of the house as I returned home from the pub. Just like an exasperated and concerned parent would. I miss that fox.
Thank you for sharing this memory.