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School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry

Posted: 28th May 2013

Well we have had a fantastic encounter over the last 24 hrs, which the picture attached shows it all its glory. Yesterday we had one of the warmest days of the year with a beautiful sunny day giving us all some much needed sun on our backs!!! The lads had mentioned there had been an Owl hunting the grass bank behind Pegs 1-3 early in the morning, and this had been mentioned by the previous group the week earlier. But late morning he returned chasing the lizards along the paths in broad daylight and perching no less than 6 feet from Lee & Robs bivvys in Pegs 2 & 3. This carried on for most of the day with him pouncing on lizards throughout the afternoon and cheekily returning time and time again after being approached with the camera. I came down in the evening and after half an hour Rob spotted him on Peg 1 while we sat talking about the strange behaviour. I quickly noticed him being a Long-eared Owl, and to see one in daylight seemed strange, the only conclusion I could come up with was the terrible spring had left his food in short supply, forcing him to hunt the Lizards because nothing else was available, or he had chicks to feed and once again food had been in short supply.

It took 2 attempts but the plan was to sneek on all fours around the back of Peg 1 while Lee stayed on the path keeping the Owls focus firmly on him, I approached from behind and got into a clear position. Well like I said it took 2 attemps but the picture says it all!!!!! Fantastic experience and one which I'm sure will never be repeated, who says fishing is boring.

Well the plot thickens because he stayed around after dark and sat for the night in a small tree outside Lee's bivvy. Once again the weather turned on it's head and we have had another cold front move in, with rain lashing down. The Owl perched in the tree like a "Drowned Rat", and this morning looked very sorry for himself. Late morning Lee had noticed he could hardly hold onto the branch and only 10 minutes later the poor thing fell out of the tree, with Lee wrapping him in a blanket and putting him inside the bivvy to dry off. I thought if we could keep him dry and get some food down him he may build his strength, but he did not last another hour. A real shame to see him hunting the evening before, but nature does cull the weak and this fella had obvouisly had a tough spring.

The fish have also not been playing ball this week, but with the weather once again "Yo-Yoing" up & down the water temp situation I think is really starting to affect their feeding pattern, and with them ready for spawning over two weeks ago I get the feeling this instinct is too strong, and they are just waiting for conditions to change. Sometimes as a fishery owner I get as fustrated as the anglers but with the best "Will In The World" sometimes conditions are out of our hands, and mother nature has the final say. They are wild creatures at the end of the day and water temp and evironmental conditions do play a huge role in their behaviour.

The lads have bumped 3 fish in the last 12 hours followed by Rob in Peg 3 taking a stunning long solid male fish of 43lb 12oz giving him one hell of an epic, aggressive fight. The weather will decide this week on the fish total but if the lads can winkle a few more good fish out it will be a result.

The clothing has been selling well with the Limited Edition Hoodie selling out in XL over the last 3 weeks. About 20 sets are still available at the introductory offer of £39.99 for Hoodie & T-Shirt with free P&P.

Back Soon with hopefully some more fishy news!!!!

Team Sanctuary