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Wild Nightlife !
 

It's amazing what you can find to do at night here at Hunters Retreat!!

We have lots of nocturnal visitors - here are just a few of our guests you can expect to see...........

 

Barn Owl

Female Markings: Distinctive black speckling on frontal area under wing parts & a distinctive dark pencilled line around the facial disc together with an apricot coloured necklace.

Male Markings: Under parts & facial disc are of pure white.

Hearing Capabilities: Barn Owls mainly hunt by sound rather than by sight.  With it's acute hearing the Barn Owl can detect the slightest movement & sound of its prey. The ears are set asymmetrical, one higher than the other under the feathering of the inside edge of the facial disc, located next to the eyes. The facial disc acts as an amazing sound funnel, collecting & filtering sound. This allows the Owl to detect the movement of its prey with complete accuracy.

Bats

Bats (Order - Chiroptera) are the only mammals capable of "true" flight. They are nocturnal feeders and locate their prey - small to medium sized insects - by echolocation. Bats consume vast amounts of insects making them very effective pest control agents. They may eat as much as their weight in insects per day.

Fox

The largest of all vulpine foxes, the red fox is the most successful, and is certainly the most recognizable. A small, dog like animal, it's adult mass can vary between 3-10 kg. European foxes and those living in higher latitudes tend towards the larger sizes, while those in North America and southern latitudes are generally smaller. The males average ten to fifteen percent heavier than the females, although the considerable size differences between individuals in this species makes it difficult to use this as a guideline to determining sex.

And if you are really lucky a Badger

This most secretive of guests is a regular visitor here at Hunter Retreat. If you wish to spend a quiet twilight hour or so trying to see these illusive creatures, we can point you in the right direction but we cannot offer any guarantees! you need lady luck on your side!!

Identification is simple :Black and white striped face. Body grey, black fur on legs.  Head/body length: about 750mm, tail 150mm  Weight: average 8-9kg in spring, 11-12kg in autumn.                

Good Luck  

 

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