Barn Owl.

Softer than he looks.

Not often you get to see one of these close up – especially in a café! This beautiful specimen is called “Professor Brock” and is a rescue. He is amazingly tame – in fact he seems to thrive on human company. He enjoyed a good fuss and stroke. His feathers feel more like down, they are so soft. It was a little dark and so the use of a high ISO to compensate has resulted in this photograph of this glorious Barn Owl looking a bit “soft”. But then, perhaps that is appropriate.

In the wild, we are told, these birds have a life expectancy of around 3 years. In captivity, this can be as much as 20 years. Professor Brock will be 14 in May. He is a rescue and once removed from the wild it is illegal to release them again. Still, I am sure he is not complaining – it sounds like he has a wonderful life.

Photograph Details:

• Taken: 5 Feb 2020
• Camera: Canon 5D MkIII
• Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm 1:2.8 L II USM
• Focal Length 24mm
• F/2.8
• 1/80 Sec
• ISO 6400