I don’t know about you, but I love the sound of a hooting owl – maybe I’ve watched one too many horror films in which these “unsung” film stars provide a spine-tingling ambience! The Tawny Owl – our most common owl – is at its most vocal in autumn, hooting away as it sets up territorial rights in preparation for the winter struggle for food.

A lazy hunter, the Tawny Owl can often be seen in your car headlights as you drive through Gloucestershire’s woods, perched on a bough of a tree listening and waiting for the slightest sound of a scurrying mouse or, another of its favourite prey, a bank vole. The Tawny is very much at home in ancient deciduous woodland and, like all owls, have fantastic hearing – their concave facial discs trap sound waves just like a satellite dish catches radio waves. They also fly silently, as their peripheral wing feathers are such that they do not produce a swishing sound that could potentially alert a nearby ‘meal’. These predators hunt by stealth!

I once saw around five Tawny Owls standing on the road, looking as if they were having a meeting. Were they wising-up on something?!

In contrast, the Barn Owl is an active hunter – it is much smaller than a Tawny, whitish in colour and beautiful to observe. You will often see them at dawn and dusk hovering over open fields before ‘dive-bombing’ upon sight of its prey – not dissimilar to the kestrel’s actions. There are captive breeding programmes to maintain their numbers as the Barn Owl is much more vulnerable to long periods of snow cover than the Tawny.

The Barn Owl does not hoot but tends to make a hissing or snoring noise. These owls are also responsible for the myth surrounding ghosts being white, as they fly around graveyards – Barn Owls flying at night can look very ‘ghost-like’ indeed.

My first ever sighting of a Barn Owl in the wild was a moving experience – many years ago I was driving at night when I noticed a white bird flying along with me on the other side of the road. At first, I thought it was a seagull. I slowed down ... it slowed down. I stopped the car, and it stopped and perched on a fence. It then turned its head to reveal its prominent facial disc and looked in my direction. We appeared to acknowledge each other, and I felt I’d connected with nature and wildlife. It eventually flew off and I drove home feeling excited and spiritually richer for the sighting. A truly fantastic experience.