My fingers are firmly crossed for you Jeff. Your kingfisher thread is outstanding (for the words as well as the pictures) so I hope this year will be as good a year for barn owls as last year was. The pair that use the box on my local nature reserve succesfully fledged 10 chicks in two broods in 2007 after a big fat zero in 2006.
I managed one photo (nowhere near your standard) of an adult just about to exit the nest box...
This was taken on 29 July, long after the first brood had fledged and well before the second batch of eggs were laid so I hope I wasn't breaking the law by taking it without a schedule 1 license!
Which leads me on to a question... Having read in your kingfisher diary what you have to do to get a licence I realise that as things stand I wouldn't qualify for one. But I would be keen to get some better shots of wild barn owls and I know that they sometimes hunt by day when they have chicks to feed. Is there any guidance on how far away from the box I should stay? I mean, if I'm two or three fields away and spot one out hunting what's the position if I photograph it?
Like you, Jeff, I will put the welfare of the birds ahead of my photography every time so regardless of the legal position what should be my maximum approach?
Dave P.