Spend some time at Meadow Hide and the chance is high that you'll see one of the amazing barn owls that hunt in the meadow. Meadow Hide is a holiday cottage in West Sussex designed for wildlife spotting. It's nestled at the back of our peaceful site with views over the meadow from inside and out.
This photo was taken by a lovely guest at Meadow Hide, there are more photos of the barn owl on her beautifully artistic Instagram feed. Take a look at @marciaharrisonbriggs
Barn Owls
It's really a privilege to see one of our native birds of prey in the wild and being able to watch them as they hunt is a special experience. We've set up hunting posts in the meadow. These are vantage points from which hunting birds can view the terrain and spot potential food. They often sit on the posts for many minutes giving you a chance to get a really good look at them. It is a truly magnificent sight.
Although owls are generally associated with night hunting, they are often out and about during the day too. Particularly when they have young nearby, as all parents know, feeding babies can be a full time job! Barn Owls have extremely good hearing and eye sight combined with long legs and large talons that make them excellent at catching prey in the long grass. Listen out for the screech of the barn owl, they don't hoot. If you hear the iconic 'twit twoo' call, that's one of the local Tawny Owls passing by.
We're happy to see a whole range of other visitor to the meadow from our smallest pollinators and mammals to hovering Kestrels and magnificent Red Kites.
If you're interested in barn owls take a look at the Barn Owl Trust, they do brilliant work to help protect these beautiful birds and have a really informative website.