No animal better symbolises the desire to get closer and the need to respect distance than the owl. These remarkable creatures are both among and apart from us: sharing the same environments but carrying a sense of mystique as they beat their wings low over the fields where they hunt, or swoop up and around to their nest, high in a tree or haystack. There is something ethereal, awe- and fear-inspiring about the appearance and movement of these birds: graceful, distinctive, almost otherworldly. It is not hard to see why observers long ago watched the owl and deemed it a visitor from another place, with either a great or terrible message to impart. Every encounter with an owl is special, somehow new, and stands alone even as it helps you to understand patterns and connections. The silent approach of a white Barn Owl angel over a paddock is one of the most alluring images in the British countryside. The t’wit and the answering t’wo of the Tawny owl is a classic of the night. Both are tiny insights into the amazing lives of the owls that are found around us. Ghosts of the Night is a wonderful insight into every element of our British Owls – Barn and Tawny and their even more enigmatic cousins the Short-eared, Long-eared and Little. How well do they hear, how silently do they fly and how do they live in the ever changing countryside. Chris Sperring is the acknowleged expert and he explains everything you have ever wanted to know about these amazing creatures.
