No show from my local Barn Owls

With the prospect of a very pleasant and sunny summer's evening, I went out to look for my local Barn Owls as I haven't been for quite some time.  Things had changed a little since my last visit with one of the rough pasture fields having been cut and a new metal gate installed at the entry to what I always thought was a public footpath.

As I parked up the farmer was just leaving the field via this gate on his tractor and as I'd hadn't met him before I decided to approach him.  I'd been told by others that he wasn't particularly happy with people photographing the owls here, but he seemed OK to me and said it would be alright if I went not the field - he also said that it wasn't his anyway and that Peel Holdings who owned the field had installed the gate. He also mentioned that he'd seen a Barn Owl a short while ago in another field.

I went to my usual places here, and although there were quite a few birds about, the Barn Owls didn't show for me.  The most obvious birds here were the Song Thrushes with at least five or six singing out loudly.  This one perched quite nicely for the light.

There was also a Kestrel which I believe harasses the Owls for their prey, plenty of Swallows, Gulls and a Common Buzzard, none of which were really within photographic range.  So I came home a little disappointed, but at least I got a couple of pleasing photographs.