LITTLE OWL HIDE …. THE START OF A NEW BREEDING SEASON

It was all change last year as the resident Male has found himself a new Lady, and she is so different to his previous partner and they had no real issues settling down to breed, occupying the normal nesting site, and it was with great excitement when feeding visits to the hide suddenly increased on the 3rd June, indicating that eggs had hatched and youngsters needed feeding.

Over the following weeks the hide has been full of Photographers who went away with fantastic images of the parents as they visited the hide virtually non stop, some going away with over 3,000 images from a 3 hour session.

The young Owlets eventually fledged and settled in the tree right next to the hide, 4 could be counted, but as the weeks went by and they became more adventurous it seems we may have lost one as 3 could only be seen regularly through late July into August.

As of 16th June 2020, the Owls have again settled down to breed and visits to the hide increased in frequency, and we will now ben taking bookings for morning and evening sessions.

The cost of each session is £75 …. the hide is ideal for two Photographers, with plenty of room for your bags and kit etc.

Morning sessions generally run 6-9am and evenings 6-9pm  but these will vary as the season progresses.

The hide is located on a working dairy farm in the welsh countryside close to the village of Rossett, which lies between Chester and Wrexham, minutes off the A483. As the hide is on a working farm there are restrictions in place for your safety and to not cause any disturbance to the farm operation. The meeting point will be in the village of Rossett, where you can then follow me down to the Farm, about a 5 minute drive.

The hide is a few minutes walk from the farm yard, this is across a field that may have dairy cows in. Then it’s over a stile and a short walk into the hide. I will accompany you in the hide for the duration of your stay. It can get quite wet and muddy, so it is recommended you wear boots or wellington boots.

The perches for the Owls are very close to the hide, a focal length of 500mm will give you a nice tight image of the Owl, whereas a lens such as a 300mm or a zoom will give you opportunities to photograph the birds in flight or landing etc.

T&C’s….. as stated this is a working farm, I have no control on what may happen on a daily basis, it is unlikely to disturb the birds as they have been nesting here for many years and are used to farm machinery, cows etc, but if they are disturbed this is out of my control. Should the Owls not show at all and you leave with no images, I will offer you a free return to the hide on a convenient date to us both.

There are no facilities in the hide, so you will need to bring any food or drink you will need, and there are no toilets, so please bear this in mind.

To book a session please email me at gjwildlifephotography@outlook.com or send me a message through my Facebook or Twitter pages.

Below is a small selection of the many images that I have taken over the course of this Spring and Summer.