The barn owl is the 12th species in the family of owls included in the fauna of Poland that I have in my photo collection. It occurs practically on all continents, except Antarctica. Unfortunately, it belongs to the nocturnal owls and this feature makes it difficult to take pictures, not to mention good pictures of this bird. For the first time I could see barn owls on Sardinia, but they were so skittish that I have no photos of this bird from this trip. Well, I tried several times to find this owl, and here it was, suddenly, unexpectedly it happened, a long-awaited opportunity to take photos.  Just before 7 p.m. the owls would show up in the hollows of a tree in a boggy place several dozen meters from a public, rather busy, unpaved road. And since it was promised, it was like that. It was said that in this quite large tree there live 8 owls. I myself could see 4. This is how my first pictures of barn owls were taken.
Last minute news-07-2025
For years, I dreamed of capturing a barn owl in daylight – just as I had previously managed with the Eurasian eagle-owl. Unfortunately, this species clearly prefers darkness. My visit to a hide in the UK was an attempt to break through that barrier and take photos in natural light. Sadly, it was unsuccessful.I’m not a supporter of photographing birds using strong, focused lighting, which often causes them stress. This time, however, the situation was different – the baiting area was illuminated by two powerful spotlights, and it was entirely up to the owl whether it would choose to appear within their range.
The barn owls were well aware that treats awaited them there every day, so we would settle into the hide around two hours before sunset and wait patiently. In vain. The barn owls usually showed up only about half an hour after official sunset.
The photos I took are undoubtedly interesting and bring a fresh perspective to my existing gallery of the species. But the dark, nighttime background wasn’t what I had hoped for after such a carefully planned expedition. Like the peregrine falcon, the barn owl is a cosmopolitan species – found on every continent except Antarctica. However, unlike the eagle-owl, which I successfully photographed in daylight in Finland above the Arctic Circle, the barn owl is a warmth-loving bird. Recreating similar conditions for photographing it in natural light is much more difficult. And so, a rather specific gallery was created – a gallery of a nocturnal bird that clearly avoids daylight. Although not everything went as planned, the progress is significant – and the new barn owl gallery now features in the "news" section on my website.

Sri Lanka - SPIS Jezyk ANGIELSKI

Junglefowl- introductory text from the expedition to Sri Lanka.
Newly created galleries:
BIRDS:
1.Sri Lanka Junglefowl (T,V). 2.Ceylon Magpie (V). 3.Barn Owl (T). 4.Indian Peafowl (T,V). 5.Spot-winged Thrush. 6.Sri Lanka White-eye 7.Ceylon Grey-Hornbill (V). 8.Brown Fish Owl (T). 9.Great Thick-knee(V). 10.Sri Lanka Spurfowl (V) 11.White-bellied Sea-Eagle (T).12.Green-billed Coucal. 13.Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot (T). 14.Jungle Owlet (T,V). 15.Tricolored Munia (V). 16. White-breasted Waterhen(V). 17.Greater Coucal(V). 18.Crested Hawk-Eagle (V). 19.Serendib Scops-Owl. 20. Ceylon Frogmouth. 21.Painted Stork. 22.Indian Pond Heron. 23.Spot-billed Pelican. 24.White-browed Fantail. 25.Yellow-browed Bulbul. 26.Black Bulbul(V). 27.Alexandrine Parakeet(V). 28.Orange-billed Babbler(V). 29.Sri Lanka Green-Pigeon. 30.Tickell's Blue-Flycatcher. 31.Red-faced Malkoha. 32.Oriental Darter. 33.Crimson-backed Flameback. 34.Red-vented Bulbul. 35.Crimson-backed Flameback.36.Brown-capped Babbler. 37.Indian Scops-Owl. 38.Yellow-eared Bulbul (V). 39.Ashy-headed Laughingthrush. 40.Sri Lanka Drongo. 41. Chestnut-backed Owlet. 42.Chestnut-headed Bee-eater. 43.Layard's Parakeet. 44.Jerdon's Leafbird. 45.White-bellied Drongo. 46.Asian Paradise-Flycatcher. 47.Cinnamon Bittern. 48.Rosy Starling. 49.Brown-headed Barbet. 50.Pin-tailed Snipe. 51.Jerdon's Bushlark. 52.Malabar Pied-Hornbill. 53.Stork-billed Kingfisher. 54.Sri Lanka Woodshrike. 55.White-rumped Munia. 56.Black-headed Ibis. 57.Plain Prinia. 58.Yellow-billed Babbler. 59.... Pied Cuckoo. 60.Brown Wood-Owl. 61.Kashmir Flycatcher. 62.Yellow-wattled Lapwing. 63.Sri Lanka Swallow. 64.Little Swift. 65.Malabar Trogon(T). 66.Indian Thick-knee. 67.Long-billed Sunbird. 68.Forest Wagtail. 69.Sri Lanka Wood-Pigeon(T). 70.Indian Robin. 71.Whiskered Tern. 72.Asian Koel. 73.Shikra. 74.Indian Pita. 75.Ashy Prinia. 76.Indian Cormorant. 78.Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark. 79.Orange-breasted Pigeon. 80. Gray-bellied Cuckoo. 81. Small Pratincole. 82.Dark-fronted Babbler. 83. Brown-breasted Flycatcher. 84.Yellow-fronted Barbet. 85.Purple-rumped Sunbird. 86.Barred Buttonquail. 87.Green Imperial Pigeon. 88.Clamorous Reed Warbler. 89.Jungle Prinia. 90.Common Iora. 91.Lesser Yellownape. 92.Purple Sunbird. 93.Crested Serpent Eagle. 94.Crested Honey Buzzard.95.Grey-headed Swamphen (T).
MAMMALS:
1.Sri Lankan elephant. 2.Chital. 3.Indian hare. 4.Tufted Gray Langur. 5.Toque macaque. 6.Indian palm squirrel (V). 7.Grizzled giant squirrel. 8.Yellow-striped chevrotain.9.Wild water buffalo. 10.Ruddy mongoose. 11. Golden jackal.
REPTILES::
1.Sri Lankan kangaroo lizard. 2.Green forest lizard. 3. Saltwater crocodile. 4.Sri Lanka Agama. 5.Sri Lankan pit viper(T). 6.Bengal monitor. 7.Asian water monitor. 8. Indian rat snake.
Changes in galleries:
BIRDS:
1.Purple Heron. 2.Red-wattled Lapwing (V), 3.Rose-ringed Parakeet (V), 4.Oriental Magpie-Robin (V). 5.Black-hooded Oriole(V), 6 Brahminy Kite. 7.Blue-tailed Bee-eater(T). 8.Flame Minivet. 9.Spotted Dove(V). 10.Emerald-Dove. 11.Common Myna. 12.Asian Openbill. 13.... Pied Kingfisher. 14.Brown Shrike. 15.Nutmeg Mannikin. 16.White-throated Kingfisher. 17.Pheasant-tailed Jacana. 18.Lesser Whistling-Duck. 19. Great Egret. 20.Intermediate Egret. 21.Indian Roller. 22.Eurasian Spoonbill. 23.Yellow Bittern. 24.Common Tailorbird. 25.Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher. 26.Ashy Woodswallow. 27.Coppersmith Barbet. 28.Little Egret. 29.Common Kingfisher. 30.House Sparrow(T). 31.Woolly-necked Stork. 32.Barn Swallow. 33.Richard's Pipit. 34.Common Redshank. 35.Marsh Sandpiper. 36.Little Stint. 37.Black-crowned Night Heron. 38.Caspian Tern. 39.Little Green Bee-eater(T). 40.Zitting Cisticola. 41.Grey heron.42.Little Cormorant. 43.Black-capped Bulbul. 44.Large-billed Crow(V). 45.Pied Bushchat 46.Gray-breasted Prinia.47.Baya Weaver.
MAMMALS:Indian flying fox (V).
Sri Lanka FAUNA Sri Lanka FLORA Sri Lanka FLOWERS Landscape of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka- slideshow