Most of you will remember schooldays and learning the poem by Edward Lear about "The Owl and the Pussycat", although this belonged to nonsense verse it struck me quite recently that perhaps I could talk about the owl and the pussycat together in a more scientific way, which would be fun to do.

In our area the barn owl is the one we see more than any other, as it is now having a chance to increase its numbers thanks to some careful work by country folk and farmers who are providing safe roosts and breeding habitats for them. These lovely birds with creamy white feathers bordered by orange lace markings, short tails and an upright stance, are so still still when not in flight that it gives them their often used description of being a "wise old owl." Their large eyes give a frontal vision so much better than ours, and, enhanced by by their ability to turn the head 270° can see in very dim light prey which we could hardly observe under bright light. Due to the distribution of sight cells in the eyes, the owl cannot discern colours beyond a greyish tinge in the daytime, but in the dusk and it has distinct vision in black and white. When it flies, it does so silently, and along with the wonderful vision it also has acute hearing. Nature has been very clever with with the owl, and one ear hole is slightly lower on the skull than the other, enabling it to pin point the prey even in the absence of sight.

It is such a good predator that it is a very lazy bird and apart from the breeding season it can catch all it needs in an hour at dusk and an hour at dawn. Like all owls, it sicks up the indigestible parts as furry pellets about the size of a date which can be found in profusion under the roost. Since most of the diet comprises voles the pellets provide clues, but more of that later.

Like the owl, cats are lazy and because they are wonderful predators they don't need to spend a huge amount of time hunting for their food, although they do like the sport of bringing trophies home, dead or alive, for showing off reasons! The cat has very similar eyes to the owl. It sees through daylight hours in greyish green colours, but at night, when it is at its best, it has excellent night vision in black and white. Like the owl, it has great patience and acute hearing and by cocking its head a little to one side can get an accurate bearing on prey as a result. The claws and paws can double their normal size when needed and are like the talons of the owl. Once they get hold of the prey the job is done. Sometimes the cat will vomit a fur ball similar to the pellet of an owl, but it only comprises hair and fur and is of no further interest to us.

Now for the younger readers who tell me that they read "Egremont Today" I have a task. Find an owl's pellet, put it on a piece of dark paper about the size of a newspaper, and tease it apart to find the many things that it contains. Write them down in your diary. You will be surprised what you find. If you have a magnifying glass it will be even more interesting. If you can't find a pellet, call into my surgery. I may have one or two.