NearbyWild's video: Barn Owl Hunting and Feeding Three Young

I had been fortunate in seeing a juvenile barn owl flying along a track in 2013 and decided to check whether there was a nest in the area the following year. It was a real privilege to locate the nest about a quarter of a mile from my sighting, which I did not have licence to film and so had to keep a good distance away. I hid in the hedge line so that my presence would not alarm the mother, who left the tree to begin hunting not long after I arrived. I wanted to show just how hard it is for a mother to find food for her young and so kept the camera rolling. At one point she arrives back at the nest where you can see her three young and whom you can hear constantly calling their low rasping calls as she hunts. This was such a memorable, magical encounter of natural behaviour. To be able to observe natural behaviour you have to be pin drop quiet, move slowly towards your spot, become statuesque and blend into the environment by wearing clothes that seamlessly blend in. The same is true for all the wildlife I film. None of them pose in front of the camera with ease and most are easily spooked by sudden movements or noise. I am respectful and am concerned for the well-being of wild kin at all times and will walk away from filming if necessary. I was not in a hide. I have not posted this footage to date because I was worried that the barn owls would be disturbed too much by less caring wildlife photographers. I returned the following year with great excitement to see if this beautiful barn owl had nested again. But, I was in for a shock. The tree had collapsed following a lightening strike and the farmer had planted crops in the fields for the first time in about 10 years. In one fell swoop the barn owl had lost her home and her habitat. My heart went out to her and her young. Wildlife losing habitat is one of the reasons why the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.