When out for an after work jog on my local nature reserve, Fen Drayton, I was treated to the sight of a ghostly white face floating silently over the fields.
It was of course a barn owl and it was great to see this beautiful animal hunting so close to where I live.
The spectacle lasted about half an hour and I watched it successfully dispatch a large mouse and then sit on a post devouring it. The experience was well worth the mosquito bites accumulated while I stood gawking.
This image not only captures a hunting barn owl in action but its profile looks amazingly like a badminton shuttle-cock, don't you think? It made me smile anyway.
The credit goes to Steve Knell for this one. rspb-images.com always have an amazing image whatever I search for, so why not have a look yourself?