Strange as it may seem, this is not an entry into a “most boring blog headline” contest. Rather, it is derived from an obscure song by a British band (Marc Riley and the Creepers) titled “Another song about motorbikes”. Which I think is quite a clever way of taking a potentially cool topic and making it mundane.

For those still reading on after this introduction, this is about Barn Owls I have seen in Germany in summer 2018 and winter 2019 – rural Northern Germany, to be more specific. And as the introduction above perfectly illustrates, there is not much I can write about the topic – as usual, the photos will have to do the heavy lifting.

In summer 2018, I spent a couple of nights near barn owl nesting boxes, watching the parental delivery service and its expectant customers.

The next time I saw a barn owl was in South Africa, at Kruger National Park in November 2018. One roosted in the wooden roof of an open restaurant building, undisturbed by the tourist activity below.

In December 2019, I found a roosting barn owl on my last day in Germany.

As a friend of mine commented, this one (indeed the last photo I took) looks like a shy girlfriend seeing me leave …

 

More owl photos here.

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai Pflug has been living in Shanghai for 20 years. He only became interested in birds in China – so he is much more familiar with birds in China than with those in Germany. While he will only ever be an average birder, he aims to be a good bird photographer and has created a website with bird photos as proof. He hopes not too many clients of his consulting company read this blog, as they will doubt his dedication to providing consulting services related to China`s chemical industry. Whenever he wants to shock other birders, he tells them his (indoor) cats can distinguish several warblers by taste.