Listening to owls marking their territory

LAST week I was in England, visiting friends in a rural part of Devon.

One night around midnight I went outside for a smoke. It was a still, frosty winter night and it was filled with strange and beautiful sounds.

I thought I knew what was going on but I called an Englishman out of the house to confirm it for me. He agreed that what we were listening to was tawny owls marking their territory. There are no tawny owls in Ireland which is why I needed the confirmation.