Peak District Retreat Blog: Wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment

As sunrise appears behind the geese and goslings, the gander is flapping his wings.

Look how big they are! Compare to when we first saw them 20 days ago.

There were and still are six goslings, though only four are captured on this photo taken as a quick snap from our window as they grazed outside.

They range far and wide, covering just about all of our 23 acres and also grazing on neighbouring farmland. We didn't see them at all for a couple of days but then they reappeared.

The barn owlets are developing well and the first fledging is expected in around ten days.

To exit the nest box they need to be able to fly up to the exit hole which is about 60cm above the floor of the box. The box depth is calculated so as to be difficult for them to exit before 56 days old. This is because if they leave the box too early, before they are good enough at flying to get back to the nest box, they will starve. Barn owl parents do not feed their young on the ground, they feed only those in or on the box. (This is different to tawny owls who find their young and feed them wherever they are).

The eldest owlet will be 56 days old just nine days from now. Expect to see a lot of wing exercising and attempted flying between now and then. Already I've seen the eldest one leave the bottom of the box briefly by flapping its wings.

This female barn owl had been quite wet and bedraggled earlier in the morning, following hunting in the rain to feed her young. Then she emerged from the box to shake and rearrange her now dry but perhaps rather matted feathers.

Two young red deer stags were standing in one of our ponds drinking. This was 9:20 p.m. so the natural light photo is of lower quality than it might have been in bright daylight.

Generally, other than during the rutting season, red deer have separate herds for the males and females. Around here we usually see a female herd (which may include some male young) up up to about 17 individuals. To see two stags together has been unusual here.

A summer sighting of a female black redstart, a bird that has previously visited us in the winter yet is not expected here at any time of year.

A black redstart was noted here in Dec-Jan 2023. I photographed a female black redstart again today in our farmyard and in a bush about 30m from the buildings.

The four barn owlets seems to be thriving and active.

These barn owlets now range in age from 4 weeks down to 19 days. They are beginning to replace their down with feathers. e.g. look at the video at about 12 seconds in.

The fourth and youngest is not so visible early in the video - it tends to keep underneath its siblings, perhaps for warmth as it is still not fully covered in down. Later in the video it is away from the others and easier to see.

For a month we've been observing a male Canada goose patrolling all around the area of this pond, even walking up and down a field over 50 yards away to block cattle from coming near.

The nest was hard to spot but a couple of weeks ago we got glimpse between strands of tall grass of the white breast of the goose on the far edge of the pond.

We thought they were due to hatch and yesterday the goose left the nest and was swimming in the pond. This afternoon she brought six goslings into the pond with her.

All four eggs hatched, and all four owlets are being fed by the parents. They have all turned white and fluffy, having been naked and pink initially.

The male barn owl is still not very reliable at hunting for them, occasionally not turning up at all and some nights only bringing 2-3 voles (and other nights bringing 10 or more).

The female sometimes also goes out hunting at dusk and/or at dawn, but that is higher risk because in daylight predators may attack either her or the owlets in the box. Again this morning she was chased back to the box by a magpie trying to steal her prey.

The second photo of her with prey was from 06:22 yesterday.

Distinguishing male and female barn owls is difficult from afar, and can still be difficult when closer.

Typically males are a bit smaller than females. Looking at the two photos of our pair taken at the same time, the one closest to the camera looks slightly larger whichever side you look from, i.e. they are both about the same size.

The is male is typically paler than the female, but that is not always so and in this pair the male (on the left) is only slightly paler. e.g. look at the cheek colouring.

Small black spots on the thighs and underwing are more common in females and few or absent in males. It isn't obvious in this view but the male (on the left) has no such white spots, and the female (on the right) has some but not as many as may often occur in females.